At Sierra Service Project, one of our core values is to foster healthy bodies and healthy souls in all areas of our lives! This, of course, includes effective hygiene.
In light of the potential spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) throughout regions where SSP serves and is based, we encourage ample safety measures be taken in your day-to-day life to avoid the spread of preventable illness. One of these measures includes appropriate handwashing practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)!
The CDC strongly recommends scrubbing your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds with hot, soapy water. The Happy Birthday song is about this length.
However, if you are tired of singing the same old Happy Birthday refrain over and over, you can try these SSP song choruses instead to practice superior hygiene, which all clock in at a minimum of 20 seconds:
Build Me Up Buttercup:
Why do you build me up /
Buttercup baby, just to let me down /
And mess me around, and then worst of all /
You never call baby, when you say you will /
But I love you still /
I need you, more than anyone darlin’ /
You know that I have from the start /
So build me up /
Buttercup, but don’t break my heart
Lean On Me:
Lean on me /
When you’re not strong /
And I’ll be your friend /
I’ll help you carry on /
For it won’t be long /
‘Til I’m gonna need /
Somebody to lean on
If I Had a Hammer:
If I had a hammer /
I’d hammer in the morning /
I’d hammer in the evening /
All over this land /
I’d hammer out danger /
I’d hammer out warning /
I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters /
All over this land /
Ooooooh
Turning Over Tables:
Love is turning over tables /
Breaking off chains /
When I see you in the stranger /
I’m no longer a slave /
Turning over tables /
Tearing down walls /
Building up the bridges /
Between us all
Sanctuary
Lord, prepare me /
To be a sanctuary /
Pure and holy /
Tried and true /
With thanksgiving /
I’ll be a living /
Sanctuary /
For you
Garden Song
Inch by inch, row by row /
Gonna make this garden grow /
Gonna mulch it deep and low /
Gonna make it fertile ground /
Inch by inch, row by row /
Please bless these seeds I sow /
Please keep them safe below /
‘Til the rain comes tumblin’ down
Blessed Be Your Name
Every blessing you pour out I’ll turn back to praise /
When the darkness closes in, Lord /
Still I will say /
Blessed be the name of the Lord /
Blessed be your name /
Blessed be the name of the Lord /
Blessed be your glorious name
Last, but certainly not least, the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father/Mother/God/Creator
Who art in heaven
Hallowed by thy name
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us of our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Anyone participating in or leading SSP programs is asked to take hygiene practices seriously! This starts with washing our hands, but also includes:
- Using hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not readily available
- Cleaning all dishes, cookware, and surfaces from mealtimes with both soap and bleach solutions
- Cleaning restrooms with both soap and bleach solutions
- Regularly wiping down surfaces with disinfectant
- Any coughing or sneezing should be done into a tissue, not open-air, into the hand, or into the elbow
- Refraining from sharing utensils, drinks, or food
- Staying home if sick or symptomatic
- Engaging with regular practices that foster a healthy immune system, like getting sufficient rest, nutrition, hydration, and exercise
Let’s build beloved community by remaining attentive to our hygiene practices, so we may all thrive with healthy bodies and healthy souls!
Editor’s Note: Please take extra precaution when interacting with vulnerable populations or anyone who may have a compromised immune symptom, and educate yourself on the symptoms and spread of COVID-19 using CDC resources and information.If you have reason to believe you may have come into contact with someone with COVID-19, contact your healthcare professional and follow their detailed recommendations.
In addition, please note the choruses of the following SSP songs are NOT long enough to be recommended as handwashing refrains:Yellow Submarine, Rubber Blubber Whale, Draw the Circle Wide, I Am the Resurrection, and Leaving on a Jet Plane.