Everyday Heroes

One of the few silver linings of the current global crisis is that many eyes are being opened for the first time to just how many workers make our day-to-day lives possible. Cashiers, delivery and warehouse workers, pharmacists, construction and sanitation workers, public transportation workers and more are facing dangerous conditions, often for little pay—but without them, our communities would effectively shut down.

Whether you’re just now realizing how many hands are behind each Amazon purchase you make, or are worrying about a loved one who’s cashiering at a grocery store so others can stock up on what they need, write an open letter of appreciation to one or all of these essential workers who are making it possible for us to safely stay home when staying home isn’t an option for them.

What to Do

1. Think about who you’d like to thank and start creating your story—here’s how.
2. When submitting your story for review, select “Submit to a Challenge” and select “Everyday Heroes.”
3. When your story has been approved, it will appear under Submissions on this page.
4. BONUS: Share your published story on Instagram and tag us (@vocal_creators) so we don’t miss it! Encourage your friends and fans to read it and give it a like on Vocal—it could give yo`ur story a leg up in judging.

About this Challenge

If your biggest concern is that you’ve “finished Netflix”, then consider yourself one of the lucky ones. While some of us are adjusting to this new stuck-at-home norm, some people are still showing up, every day, to ensure that our basic needs are met. These everyday heroes are the ones that are helping you get your groceries, order cleaning supplies from Amazon, taking out your trash, educating your children, and keeping our society going—and many of them are doing so for little pay or without the protection they need.

While it might be hard to put yourself in their shoes, we can all come together to say thanks. We’re asking all creators to write an open letter to essential workers—whether you want to address all teachers who are having to adjust to online classes, or directly thank a person who you know in this position, help us show them the appreciation they deserve.

Take a few minutes to write them a letter of appreciation—whether you feel particularly emotional about the situation, or you want to thank them by reminding them that this is not forever, there’s no right or wrong way to go about saying thank you. The bottom line is that we need your help letting them know that their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Enter the Everyday Heroes Challenge for a chance to win $2,500 and choose a cause you’d like us to donate $2,500 to.

For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 5,000 words, and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the Challenge up until June 4, 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration.

To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or third place prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these 35 countries will not be eligible to win.

You can find the Official Rules for this Challenge here.