'love, Pittsburgh:' Spreading Love And Support For Local Artists During Coronavirus Outbreak
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A local business, shut down during the pandemic, is trying to spread some love and help support local artists at the same time.
Monica Yope and Kelly Sanders own love, Pittsburgh.
Their two storefronts are closed but they are now handwriting postcards, purchased online, and mailing them out across the country and internationally.
Two dollars from each purchase goes to support local artists through the Pittsburgh Artists Emergency Fund.
"We connected with it immediately because our mission is also to support local artists. So, any way we can help do that is a good fit and something we wanted to support," Yope told KDKA's Heather Abraham.
They use postcards created by local artists and hand write each one.
"There's a lot of love being sent and I can't remember the last time so much well-wishing was happening," Yope said.
"We just thought what could we do that would reach people beyond Pittsburgh. There's something about everything slowing down and snail mail," said Sanders on how they came up with the idea.
"One went to Australia. I just wrote one today, Virginia, Maryland, NYC. So it's just like sending love from Pittsburgh out into the world," Sanders said. "We have one postcard that's called the neighborhood postcard that's got Mr. Rogers on it. A common thread that I've been seeing is people writing on this postcard look for the helpers and that just feels so sweet and genuine and true."
So far, the pair have written more than 300 postcards and donated around $150 to the artists' fund.
"Everyone is definitely struggling," said Sanders. "It's a weird time out there. But certainly here in Pittsburgh, you can feel the local support happening."
If you would like more information on sending a postcard, visit love, Pittsburgh here.
