Thankful Tree Giving Community Hope

To help ease anxiety about coronavirus in the community, the Cornerstone Initiative in Huntsville built a "thankful tree" to remind everyone in the community that there's always something to be thankful for.

As worries about coronavirus keep so many of us separated from family and friends this thanksgiving, it can be difficult to hold on to the positive things in life.

To help with that, the "cornerstone initiative" in huntsville built a "thankful tree."

They sent out blank leaves to everyone in their community to fill with the things that give them hope.

Waay 31's grace campbell spoke with the cornerstone's executive director about their efforts to show people - there is always something to be thankful for.

Debbi akers, executive director: "it's nice for people to see that we can, you know, be confused and have fear, or maybe grieve during this time, but we can also be thankful and there's just a spot of light here in the neighborhood."

Students in the cornerstone initiative's learning pod constructed the leaves and later passed them out to every member of their non-profit community so they could create something as one.

Debbi akers: "it's a really interesting time and even for thanksgiving, so many of us can't even get together with our families and after, you know, seven, eight, nine months of this, it can take a toll and we see it in our own lives, and people in the neighborhood."

So, it can be easy to let the negativity overwhelm people, but debbi akers: "sometimes it takes that intentional step of saying, 'wait, what am i thankful for?'

There is good, there's a lot of good in this world so let me put that down."

The cornerstones community engagement director, stephen six, says the tree shows there's always a positive side.

"it was so much fun to go around and read the different leaves and seeing some people were thankful for some really hard things."

Debbi akers: "it's just a bright light in the neighborhood right now."

Look live: not shot this is the first year cornerstone has made this thankful tree, but they hope to have this become an annual thanksgiving tradition.

In huntsville, grace campbell waay 31 news.

If you would like to see the thankful tree, it is on the corner of loren