Seven year old Amari lives with his parents and baby sister in a corner apartment building called the McCallister. It is the summer of 2020 and, along with children around the world, he is living through a global pandemic. While he knows he is lucky to be with his family, on some days, he is bored and misses his regular life. During all of the changes, Amari comes up with small acts of kindness for his neighbors. As a result, he has emerged as a guiding light of unity in his building.

Even though Amari cannot do some of the activities he has always done, he connects in new ways with the people who live in his building like teaching a little girl how to read over video conferencing, calling an older neighbor every day to share a joke, cooking for a family who has lost their jobs, and more. And his neighbors are helping others too — sharing vegetables from their garden, helping children to understand how to stay physically distant, and even working on a COVID-19 vaccine. It seems like everyone is finding ways to care for each other.

Because Amari and his neighbors are all thinking outside of themselves, a culture of reciprocity and cooperation has emerged during this challenging time. Our hope is that as you read about Amari and his McCallister neighbors, you see yourself and your neighborhood in their stories, and also that you get some new ideas about the actions you can take to bring the powerful light of unity into your corner of the planet.

Linda Grant