GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The COVID-19 pandemic was a difficult time for people around the world— from quarantining, lockdowns and even the loss of loved ones.
Now, a Grand Rapids man is being honored for his efforts to keep people together during a time that kept us apart.
“I was isolated a long time after going on disability because I was ashamed of myself. I’d lost my career due to injury and illness,” David Good, the founder of International Friend Connection, explained.
Good is no stranger to isolation. He says he experienced it as a kid because of his autism and experienced it again later in life as an adult.
“I knew I was going to do bad during lockdown, so I decided to start these meetings,” Good said. “We had people from Sydney and New York and all these cities around the world, just said they’re locked in their apartments. They could not see people and people with no history of mental illness were just kind of having difficulties.”
The chaos of COVID inspired Good to create International Friend Connection— connecting people from all over the world with a companion so they would not feel along during the loneliest of times.
“What I did was, every night, I would host a Zoom meeting for people from all over the world and they would just come and the stories I heard of how bad people’s mental health were doing during lockdown were just kind of awful,” Good recalled. “A lot of people emailed me, said it saved their lives. If they didn’t find the meetings, they didn’t know what they were doing.”
Now, his organization works to bring people of all backgrounds together not just virtually but also in person.
“Now, we have 41 group cities all over the world. We do in person meetings in Grand Rapids. I have several groups in Grand Rapids and then we do in person meetings in Ann Arbor,” he said.
International Friend Connection also has groups in places like London, India and Japan with a total of 30,000 members and 30 volunteers.
Even President Joe Biden recognized Good for his efforts to bring people together during such a tough time.
“That was real great. It was the honor of a lifetime,” he said. “I have the letter from President Biden here, and then this is the gold certificate from America, and here is the silver award.”
Good hopes to continue his mission and one day win the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“The overarching goal, just to spread understanding between people’s cultures and customs and countries and, kind of, promote peace,” he said.
Click here if you’re interested in joining an International Friend Connection group or would like to volunteer.
