College Students Helping Seniors: Shopping Angels

Often, when society is faced with an impossible task or an obstacle that have never been presented, rapid changes are made to the system we operate within to make it work. It can be particularly hard to do this, but even more so in the modern day, where the gaps in ages can have some major discrepancies that may not have existed to such extreme years ago. With the evolution of the internet, and the rapid pace at which younger members of society have learned to harness it versus older generations--it’s no wonder that many people are struggling to cope and adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This is why Honor Society stresses how important that now more than ever, young people use the ability to connect remotely and to do so in an efficient, fast way to help those around them who are currently unable to do so. The key component here is that their youth should not just be a justification for the use of modern day technology--it should also be the driving force behind why this age group specifically can be of the most assistance. For whatever reason--perhaps technology is unfamiliar to them, perhaps they are sick--there are many elderly people who are unable to do something as simple as grocery shopping right now. How did young people use the reach of technology couples with the community of people their age to help?

Shopping Angels was formed.

This effort originated from a University of Nevada, Reno student, Jayde Powell. She started "Shopping Angels" by enlisting about 20 members of her medical fraternity, Phi Delta Epsilon. As need grew, she reached out to other classmates and turned to social media to recruit more. In her interview with CNN, she recounted the details of how this all came about. 

Since March 13, the 20-year-old has been diligently connecting volunteers across the country with people in need through email, phone and Facebook. Some clients give their angel a shopping list, budget and money to cover the purchase. Other clients purchase their groceries online, and a shopping angel does the pickup. This shows the overwhelming power behind using modern-day tech tools for good in a world where health, youth and vitality are what will move the dial in terms of how this disease spreads (or the lack of its spread). 

While there are plenty of people who can help the world through the Coronavirus crisis, college students seem to be stepping up to the plate more and more and using their skills for the good of humanity. While there is so much negativity in the news, it is comforting to see some good in the world, particularly when it is being performed by the leaders of tomorrow.