“Human Touch,” is a fictional, serialized story of hope during the coronavirus pandemic, written in real time and shared each Friday in weekly installments. The idea came in response to multitude of requests to Mitch Albom from readers and listeners around the world as they search for inspiration during these incredibly challenging times. While the release will be free to the public, Albom hopes to inspire charitable donations to help his beleaguered hometown of Detroit, Michigan through a project called “Detroit Beats COVID-19!”
“Like many people around the world, I wondered what I could do to help others during this crisis,” Albom said. “When I stared getting messages from readers seeking something hopeful to read or listen to, I thought maybe I could create something in real time and just give it away, in hopes people would pay it forward and help first responders, seniors, children and the chronically poor in my city of Detroit. We are being hit extremely hard by the virus.”
Albom will release new chapters of “Human Touch” every Friday, at his website – access it easily by using www.humantouchstory.com. The audio version of “Human Touch” will be available for free on Audible.com.
Set in a small town in Michigan, “Human Touch” follows the lives of four families who share a single street corner. As the strange new virus takes root in America, the once neighborly corner begins to fray, and a tradition of Saturday gatherings unravels. Some pull closer together. Some drift into mistrust and distance. A doctor must make severe choices. A pastor struggles with faith versus law. A Chinese-American couple is suddenly ostracized. And a unique little boy with an inexplicable power become becomes the key to hope and a way out of the crisis. Until he suddenly disappears.
At the end of each installment, those reading on Humantouchstory.com will have the chance to donate to the “Detroit Beats Covid-19!” project through SAY Detroit, a 501©3 charity Albom founded in 2006. The project will donate 100% of these donations to needy Detroit residents fighting COVID-19 in the following ways:
- By creating a mobile testing center in Detroit
- Feeding 2000 homebound seniors weekly
- Continuing after-school education for more than 100 impoverished children
- Helping to operate a quarantine center for homeless citizens
- Funding the creation of reusable, washable masks and mask protectors for first responders
- Feeding medical and hospital personnel on the front lines through the purchase of food from local Detroit restaurants at risk of closing
“As a writer, this is the least I can do, for both my readers, my listeners, and my city,” Albom said. “I hope the story raises spirits, and I hope the donations save lives.”
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