“I already saw there was a huge need for it,” Jillian Juarez said.
Everyone has heard about the long lines and social distancing across Connecticut but there is another movement growing at grocery stores: angels in the aisles.
“I just jumped on board as soon as I could,” Juarez said.
Juarez from Granby had heard about Shopping Angels starting in Nevada. The program pairs people who can’t make it to the grocery store with volunteers to do the shopping for them. Juarez started the Connecticut chapter about a month ago and the response has been overwhelming.
“I’ve been spending quite an amount of time now just monitoring emails and hoping to pair volunteers with recipients that need help in the area,” co-coordinator Emily Morris
Morris says so far 150 volunteers have signed up, completing more than 50 grocery deliveries.
“The recipients can let the volunteer know what exactly they’re looking for what they need how urgent it is,” Morris said.
Local
Windsor volunteer Kim Bigelow had been looking for a way to help. Little did she know there was a need right around the corner.
“They said there’s someone right down the street who’s actually looking for help they live three minutes from me,” Bigelow said.
Bigelow is set to make her second grocery run for the couple in their 70s tomorrow. Bigelow says her gratuity is the gift she gets in return.
“The simple act of helping somebody and you can fulfill you in a way that nothing else can,” Bigelow said.
Juarez says there’s still a need for volunteers in Monroe, Glastonbury and East Lyme and New London and she’s confident the shopping angels will appear.
“It’s a precious thing that we’re doing right now to see the smile on their faces as a hearing their voices how much they need that help it’s just no sacrifice at all to do what we’re doing,” Juarez said.
If you would like to become and Angel Shopper you can send an email to shoppingangelsct@gmail.com
