Uplifting Texas News Stories in the Midst of the COVID-19 Crisis | Kitchener ON

June 8, 2020 By Richmond’s Air

So much of the news we’re hearing about lately is scary and can be overwhelming. With that in mind, the team at Richmond’s Air wanted to share some uplifting, hopeful and encouraging stories that have come out of the area recently.

These stories just go to show that when times get tough, Texans come together!

Whataburger delivers food to H-E-B employees

Like many grocery stores across the country, H-E-B employees have been working long hours to ensure that store shelves are restocked. This often means that they have little time to think about feeding themselves. To show their support, Whataburger employees stepped up to make and deliver meals to H-E-B employees.

Gulf Coast Distillers switch production to hand sanitizer

In recent weeks, hand sanitizer has become a hard-to-find commodity. To help combat shortages, Gulf Coast Distillers obtained a federal permit to add the production of both hand sanitizer and isopropyl alcohol to its normal production of beer, bourbon, vodka, whiskey and coffee. Their new products are being sold at Aldi, Dollar General and H-E-B, which already carry their coffee line. Along with selling the product in stores, Gulf Coast Distillers will also donate sanitizer and alcohol to government agencies and non-profit groups.

J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohai donate $350,000 to food bank

Houston Texan defensive end J.J. Watt and his wife, Kealia Ohai, a soccer star, donated $350,000 to the Houston Food Bank. This donation will provide as many as 1 million meals to those in need in the Houston area. In addition to Watt and Ohai’s donation, Houston Astros’ Alex Bregman made a donation of 1,000 quarantine food kits to the food bank.

Houston animal shelter provides foster parents curbside pickup

For those interested in fostering a dog during quarantine, the Harris County Animal Shelter will deliver your chosen pup to your car to comply with the city’s social distancing order. The HCAS is providing this service to those in Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Harris, Galveston, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller counties.

Houston Zoo uses Facebook Live to entertain kids

Despite stay-at-home orders, animals at the Houston Zoo still need to be cared for by zoo staff. While caring for the animals, zoo staff are using the opportunity to entertain and educate kids that are home from school. Each week day at 11 a.m. your kids will be able to tune into Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to learn science from the Houston Zoo.

Keepers will provide updates on how the animals are doing and facts about the animals. The Houston Zoo also has a number of webcams you and your kids can enjoy throughout the day.

$9,400 tip left at Houston restaurant

Before Texas restaurants had to close their dining rooms, the popular Houston restaurant, Irma’s Southwest, received a generous gift from a regular customer—a tip of $9,400! This tip, to be shared among the entire staff, was to be an anonymous gift. The husband wrote a note to the owner on the receipt and instructed that they “hold tip to pay your guys over the next few weeks.” A portion ($1,900) of the tip was left in cash on the table, and the remaining $7,500 was on a credit card.

Houston Food Bank receives donation from rodeo vendor

The RCS Carnival Group, a Houston Rodeo vendor, provided the Houston Food Bank with a large donation of food after the rodeo was canceled. The donation included bread, produce, dairy and some meat and is expected to be able to feed thousands of families. The RCS Carnival Group typically has 5 food booths during the Houston Rodeo.

Houston Methodist Hospital gives first plasma transfusion to treat COVID-19

In the battle against COVID-19, Houston Methodist Hospital is pioneering a new treatment for the virus. They have become the first academic medical center to receive FDA approval to transfuse plasma donated from those that have recovered from COVID-19 to help treat those currently fighting the virus. This treatment (which is still experimental) was fast-tracked by the FDA in the hopes to slow the death rate of those infected.  The concept of the treatment is that plasma from recovered patients will have antibodies from the immune system that will kick in and help the body kill the virus.

While we are not currently scheduling AC unit maintenance or checkups, the team at Richmond’s Air is still working hard to schedule and conduct AC unit repairs and replacements. We will continue to serve the greater Houston community and we will all get through this crisis together!