Access Weekly JOYFLASH

We are living in unprecedented times and the news is overwhelming. At Access, our teams are knee-deep in communicating and reporting on how Coronavirus is impacting our clients, their industries and how the situation itself is changing daily. It’s a lot. That’s why, we’ve decided to create a happy distraction… so, until further notice, the Access JOYFLASH will be coming your way every Friday, each week curated by a different researcher’s sense of All the News That Does Not Suck. EnJOY.

Not Everyone is an Asshole – Part 10

• This Alaskan man is making a 14-hour boat trip to Costco every week to supply his small city with groceries amid the pandemic
   14-hour boat rides + Costco checkout lines = A True American Hero
• Pantera Raise $100k For MusiCares From Sales Of Limited Edition Social Distancing T-Shirt
  Raising money for charity is so metal.
• The end of plastic? New plant-based bottles will degrade in a year
  Save the turtles!
• Sikh kitchens feed New Delhi’s masses in virus lockdown
   Four dozen men have sequestered themselves away from their families in order to provide hundreds of thousands of free meals each day.
• Built by Oil’s Riches, Houston Goes 100% Green Years Earlier
  America’s fourth-largest city will reach its goal of 100% renewable power five years sooner than planned.
• The number of women running Fortune 500 companies just hit a new high
  Newcomers to the list include CEOs from UPS, Home Depot, Rite Aid and Gap, among others. 
• Teen raises over $30,000 for frontline workers through his radio station
  No one is too small to make a difference.
• China to allocate $57 billion to environment protection
  Funds will target air, water and soil pollution.
• California bar owner pulls thousands of dollars off wall to split with employees as coronavirus hurts business
  Another bar owner puts wall décor to better use.
• Local veteran requests donations to send care packages to troops
  The 85 year old has been sending boxes of supplies to troops overseas for the last 13 years.

Nature Is Healing (An Unironic Take on the Classic Meme)

• Humpback Whales Have Made a Remarkable Recovery, Giving Us Hope for the Planet
  The once greatly threatened species has returned to 93% of its original population size.
• Coronavirus lockdowns have caused a whopping 17% drop in global carbon emissions
  California and Washington had the largest declines in the US.
• Critically endangered Hainan gibbons return from brink of extinction, thanks to Hong Kong group’s conservation efforts
  The rarest primate species has tripled in population since the 1970s.
• Philippine Village Delivers Nearly 300 Critically Endangered Sea Turtle Hatchlings to Sea
  Just keep swimming, baby turtles.
• An endangered pygmy hippo was born at the San Diego Zoo, the first in over 30 years
  Mama Mabel couldn’t be prouder.
• ‘We’ve never seen this’: wildlife thrives in closed US national parks
  Animals that haven’t been seen in decades are finally feeling safe enough to come out again.
• Mount Everest is Visible From Kathmandu, Nepal for First Time in Living Memory
  Lower vehicle emissions tied to the pandemic have cleared the skies in the Kathmandu Valley.

Celebrities NOT Singing Imagine

• Bill Murray and Guy Fieri battle it out in nacho showdown — here’s who won
  Guy Fieri (and obviously Bill Murray) is a national treasure. 
• Sia confirms she adopted two teenage sons that were ‘aging out of the foster care system’
  Another national treasure!

A Graduation They’ll Never Forget

• Barack And Michelle Obama Will Give Virtual Commencement Speeches For Class Of 2020
  The former president and first lady are helping to make disappointed graduating seniors excited about their graduations again.
• 14-Year Old From Chicago Earns Her Master’s Degree
  In addition to outdoing us all academically, prodigy Dorothy Jean has also already published a book, Unlock the Jeanius Within.
• Quavo Graduates from High School
  “We Lit Now What College Should I Go To?”
• Doggy diploma: Therapy dog to receive honorary degree from Virginia Tech
  I would trust him with my life.
• Brad Pitt surprises Missouri State University graduates with a message from quarantine
  A selfless act, or an excuse to show off that glorious quarantine hair?

Not All Good Boys are Dogs (But All Dogs are Good Boys)

• Caretakers say dolphins at popular spot miss tourists and keep leaving ‘gifts’ onshore
  This just further confirms that dolphins are sea doggos.
• Animal Sanctuary Pen Pals Program Connects Kids With Cows, Pigs and More
  Options include Heart the pig, Smudge the goat, and Blue the cow.