META Meta Platforms Inc

By Julie Jargon 

After Benjamin Gelfand made several trips to his grandparents' house to deliver groceries in early March, he realized there must be a lot of other elderly people who also are hesitant to leave their homes out of fear of being exposed to the novel coronavirus.

So he created a Google form on which at-risk neighbors can list the grocery items and medications they need, then posted it to several local Facebook groups in his hometown of Mequon, Wis., offering to deliver the items. The pre-med student, who moved back home after the University of Wisconsin-Madison shifted to distance learning, wears gloves when he shops and leaves the bags on the front porch of recipients' homes. He asks that people reimburse him for the items using Venmo or PayPal, but since many of the seniors he is shopping for don't use digital payment apps, they slip an envelope of cash beneath the door.

Now that many cities have instituted shelter-in-place orders, the need to help homebound seniors is increasing. Mr. Gelfand, 19, is one of numerous people across the country organizing grassroots efforts to help seniors, who are among those at highest risk of developing serious complications should they become infected. People are mobilizing via Facebook, Instagram and Nextdoor. In my own California community, a neighbor posted a link to a statewide campaign to help neighbors in need at californiavolunteers.ca.gov.

I queried parents and experts I know to learn what others are doing and discovered that mutual-aid networks are popping everywhere. Peanut, a networking app for moms, is mailing its members postcards they can fill out and leave in neighbors' mailboxes with offers to shop or run errands. In New York City, there are local Facebook groups and Google forms where people can sign up to bring necessities to seniors and others.

Three New Yorkers in their 20s created Invisible Hands, a website that matches volunteers with seniors and other at-risk people in need of food and medication. In just two weeks, the site has attracted 7,300 volunteers who have completed 300 deliveries in New York and New Jersey. The three friends -- a Yale University student, a Yale graduate and New York University business major -- spread the word for volunteers through social media and posted flyers written in multiple languages at grocery stores and pharmacies, hoping to attract seniors.

"It sounds counterintuitive to post flyers in exactly the places we want them to avoid, but that's where they're going," said Healy Chait, the NYU student. "We're trying to put ourselves in the minds of 70- and 80-year-olds to get this information to them."

Seniors who don't want to use the website can call in their orders. The team set up Google telephone numbers that are manned by volunteers who input the orders, which are then dispatched to other volunteers to fill. The recipients reimburse volunteers for the items, but neither the volunteers nor the founders accept payment.

The three friends are considering expanding the service to other parts of the country and are planning to add a companion calling feature to enable lonely seniors to receive calls from volunteers.

"I know these times are isolating and scary but while we're alone in our homes, we are so not alone," said Liam Elkind, the Yale student. "There's an entire army of people waiting to help."

Of course, there are plenty of elderly people who insist on doing everything themselves and have the tech savvy to do so. Lois Lieberman, a 99-year-old in Los Angeles, has been ordering groceries from Instacart and restaurant meals from Grubhub. For a family meal on St. Patrick's Day, before she completely quarantined herself, she watched a YouTube video on how to make corned beef and cabbage in her Instant Pot.

"I don't think it's anything extraordinary. I just do what I do," she said. "I don't wait for people to do things."

How to Help

Here's what you can do for seniors who do need assistance, whether they're in your own community or located far away:

-- Join Nextdoor, the social networking website for neighborhoods, where a lot of grassroots organizing is taking place, community Facebook groups or the Buy Nothing Project, a nonprofit that operates through local Facebook groups.

-- You can place online grocery orders for seniors anywhere in the country through third-party services such as Instacart and Shipt, as well as through Walmart, Amazon.com/Whole Foods and directly through many major chains. Just bear in mind that it's getting harder to do that these days. Items are often out of stock, orders can get canceled and there are often delays, so if loved ones or neighbors need something right away, it's better to go to the store for them or find a volunteer in their community. (Please follow safety advice if you must visit a grocery store and note our tips to help you shop during the pandemic.)

-- GoGoGrandparent, a fee-based service that arranges ride-shares for seniors who don't own smartphones, recently began offering grocery delivery for seniors in response to the pandemic. The company partners with delivery services, and when essential items are out of stock, it seeks help from local volunteer groups to procure necessities. The company also arranges restaurant deliveries for seniors, who can call in either kind of order to 855-754-5328 or 855-464-6872.

-- You can order restaurant meals for a senior through third-party delivery services such as Grubhub, DoorDash or Uber Eats or directly through a restaurant's website. Some fast-food chains, including McDonald's and Subway, are offering free delivery for a limited time.

-- You can donate to Meals on Wheels. This meal-delivery service for low-income seniors has a Covid-19 response fund.

-- Some local senior-support agencies are providing packaged and frozen meals at senior centers that can be taken home. Find your (or your loved one's) local agency at agingcare.com to see what services they provide.

-- Many food pantries and religious groups deliver groceries or warm meals to homebound seniors. Check foodpantries.org to find food pantries in your (or your loved one's) area.

Whether you are ordering groceries or restaurant meals for delivery, be sure you or the senior for whom you are ordering follow precautions on how to safely accept deliveries.

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Write to Julie Jargon at julie.jargon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 31, 2020 05:44 ET (09:44 GMT)

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