Many shopping center owners and retailers want to help their communities through COVID-19, but it’s hard to figure out where to start and how to best be of use. This week, SCT shared 34 good deeds from retailers and their landlords. Here, companies that have made a difference share how they got started.

1. Reach out to your local representative

Government representatives are on the front lines in their communities. They know where the biggest needs are and can connect you to nonprofits that could use assistance. If you can’t get through to your representative directly, try your local planning department. Tell the contact upfront what you are willing to offer; perhaps it’s vacant real estate or a donation. Public-private effort Rap4Bronx has provided more than 4,600 bags of groceries to local nonprofits and food pantries in the Bronx in New York City. It began with a conversation between the district manager of the local ward and Urban Edge Properties, which now hosts operations in vacant space at its Bruckner Commons shopping center. “The most important thing is to let them know you want to help,” said Chris Weilminster, executive vice president and COO of Urban Edge Properties.

2. Think creatively about what your shopping center offers

Among shopping centers’ biggest benefits are visibility and parking-lot size, things that blood- and food-drive providers are seeking, especially now. “While many shopping centers are closed, they provide the perfect venue for social distancing,” said Jennifer Rotigliano, vice president of property marketing of New England Development, which has hosted blood drives at many of its centers. She says many blood-drive organizations, such as the American Red Cross, have online portals to apply to host. Many centers also have Wi-Fi that locals can tap into. The Outlet Resource Group, for example, realized that many lost access to broadband internet when libraries closed. The company let schools know that it had removed Wi-Fi restrictions, allowing children to tap into Wi-Fi from their cars in the centers’ parking lots. “That’s something easy almost any shopping center can do,” said Lisa Wagner, a principal at the company, which also offers parking lots to truck drivers now that many rest stops are closed.

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3. Use your social media channels to amplify the needs of area nonprofits

There’s a huge need for donations and volunteers right now, and the smaller nonprofits doing direct service may not have the large audience or social-media engagement that shopping centers and retailers do. “People are looking for these [charitable] outlets,” said Weilminster. “A lot of times they just don’t know how to help.” Shopping centers and retailers can amplify local organizations’ efforts through their own social media channels. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, for example, started the #WestfieldCares campaign to drive awareness and donations to such organizations. In April, Westfield Palm Desert in Palm Desert, California, co-hosted a three-day drive to collect essentials for a local homeless services organization. Westfield’s social media pages then used the hashtag #WestfieldCares to communicate specific needs, including diapers, shampoo and baby wipes. “People are on their devices more than ever, so having a specific rallying cry at a time when we are all using social media helps to promote the initiative,” said Marcus Reese, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield executive vice president of public affairs. He added, “True impact comes from collective change.”

Most important is keeping an open mind to all opportunities. As Rotigliano said, “Today, more than ever before, shopping centers can be at the forefront in coordinating aid and assistance.”