Coronavirus California

Coronavirus: East Bay custom lawn signs celebrate graduating seniors and families who obey the stay-at-home order

ByJuan Carlos Guerrero KGO logo

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Coronavirus: Unique lawn signs for graduating seniors

FastPost, a Livermore sign making business, is honoring graduating seniors and families who follow the stay-at-home order by creating unique lawn signs.

LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- At a time when people express themselves with social media badges, something more old-school is popping up in front of homes in the Livermore area. They are lawn signs that proclaim in bold letters "This family stays home."

Livermore resident Roger Lamb has one in front of his house.

"We look at it and remind ourselves, you gotta stay home," said Lamb. "It helps reinforce to yourself and to your neighbors. I think it is a great idea."

It's an idea that Chad Snook's wife helped refine. She came up with the exact wording while sheltering in place.

"My wife came up with that name and I thought that would be a good positive sign to come up with and that is how it got started," said Snook who owns FastPost, a business that makes signs for real estate agents from the Bay Area, Fresno and Sacramento areas.

Even though real estate has been deemed an essential business during the pandemic, FastPost saw orders drop by about 70%. That forced Snook to furlough one employee, but he has been able to rehire that person because of the additional business he has been getting.

"Everybody is stressed out. They don't want to be in their house anymore. They want it to be done," said Snook at his Livermore print shop. "This is something they can be proud of. They are sacrificing for the community. They are staying home to stop the spread of the virus and that is a good thing."

The message is spreading. Signs have gone up in Pleasanton, Dublin and neighboring cities in the Tri-Valley area. Something else is going up too. Graduation signs.

They are to honor seniors who aren't getting a graduation ceremony this year. The signs congratulate the student and include their high school or college logo. It's an idea that has taken off. In just five days, FastPost got 350 orders for graduation sign and is adding 10 to 20 new schools each day.

'It gives me a little hope that people do care in a small way just by having a sign outside our door. It lets us know that everyone is going through it at the same time. It's not just a personal thing. It's a global thing," said Nick Costello, whose parents had a sign put up in front of their Pleasanton home.

It's a way to making lemonade out of lemons and to help soothe a community during these uncertain times.

If you are interested in getting a "This family stays home" sign, they can be ordered at signmyyard.com. If you want a graduation sign for a school that is not on the website, you can email info@signmyyard.com to request a school. Part of the proceeds are being donated to Livermore Downtown, Inc., a non-profit agency that benefits small businesses in downtown Livermore.

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