Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Kids Paint Rainbows To Help Spread Cheer And Simple Message: After Every Storm, Comes A Rainbow
WANTAGH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - Better days are ahead.
That's the mindset a family from Wantagh, Long Island wants everyone to know.
CBS2's John Dias explains how they're encouraging others to stay positive and see after every storm comes a rainbow.
Videos of kids painting or drawing rainbows - like ones in Selden and another from Smithtown - are popping up all over social media. Pictures too. They show the efforts Long Island families are making to stay positive during this tough time.
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"Just being able to know that there's other people out there that are trying to find the brightness in the dark," said Wantagh resident Nicole Sapienza.
Getting the idea from Italy, Nicole Sapienza and her aunt Katherine Schilling are the two behind the new Facebook group Rainbows Over Nassau And Suffolk Counties And Beyond. The group started last week and already has more than 27,000 members, encouraging families stuck in isolation due to coronavirus to display rainbows in their front doors or windows, or even on their walkways.
"We have them all over. People are saying, 'can we put them on our cars?' We're like, anywhere you want to put them, it's fine. We just want to spread some joy," said Schilling, a Wantagh resident.
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The two estimate hundreds, if not thousands, of families are already doing it, including two of Dias' nieces.
"I know one woman contacted me two days ago, and on one of her walks, she found 39. Whereas the day before she only found four," Schilling said.
They say not only does this movement aim to keep people positive, but kids busy at home.
The Facebook page also serves as a map of what towns have rainbows up, so families can go out and look for them.
"Especially with them being confined in the house all the time. It gives them something, parents could say, here. Draw a rainbow and post it. And go out with them on a walk, obviously, keeping personal distance," Schilling said.
While also keeping in mind: After every storm comes a rainbow.
"This is extreme, you know, and a little bit of color in an otherwise dark time. It's a simple thing but it's been doing wonders for people," Sapienza said.
Bright colors, hopefully leading to brighter mindsets.
