NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Some New Yorkers are still reaching out to help people throughout the city as the pandemic continues to affect many people who are not able to resume normal activities yet.
Early on in the pandemic, we heard plenty of stories of people stepping up to help shop for others who were quarantining or afraid of leaving their home.
Now, as we slowly start to come out of the pandemic, those stories seem to be few and far off.
However, volunteers like Gina Fuentes Walker say the need is still there.
She is a volunteer for Invisible Hands, which was started by college senior Liam Elkind, 21, at the start of the pandemic.
“I saw a post of Facebook from an old friend of mine, who said, ‘Does anyone know of a volunteer service that I can volunteer for to deliver for to the elderly.’ And no one really seemed to know what that organization was,” said Elkind. “So, I reached out and said, ‘What if we built that organization?’”
He says they created the group and it instantly skyrocketed in popularity.
“Seventy-two hours later we had 1,300 people signed up. And we said, ‘Oh my God, now we have to operationalize this thing,” the 21-year-old said.
Today there are more than 10,000 clients and thousands of volunteers, just like Fuentes Walker.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to do this,” she says. “I feel like I can contribute in this way, in this way to help others do what they are not able to do for themselves in this moment, during the pandemic.”
Elkind says he’s been touched by the amount of people who have volunteered to help over the last few months.
“Even in this incredibly isolating time, we are not alone,” said Liam. “There are people out there who want to step up and be an ally to you and be a friend. It’s been really remarkable, and really touching to me.”
Volunteers and clients have rarely met, just glances through the windows, or glass doors.
However, those meetings – likely joyous – are probably coming in the days and weeks to come.