WILMINGTON, NC (FOX WILMINGTON) – Delivery drivers are the unsung heroes of the pandemic in many ways, from food delivery to the mail carriers who helped Americans during the quarantine.
Over the past several weeks, a different force of delivery drivers hit the roads: students.
Cape Fear Community College, Hoggard High School and Cape Fear Academy students meet weekly at Mary C. Williams Elementary in Wilmington to take work packets to students/families who do not have internet access.
Quaid Sutherland, a Hoggard High School student who is one of the founders on G2 Give Global, a group that works to spread the love of education around the world, organized some of the volunteers.
“We had a bunch of out reach trips planned for this summer that we were going to do about because of the coronavirus a lot of those were canceled and so we were thinking about it and we wanted to do something locally still because we still felt like we could make a difference here. So we went to Mary C Williams and we had a history of community service with them and they said we have all these packets that we really need delivered to these kids who don’t have access to the Internet and the social workers have been doing it a really overwhelmed with other stuff right now.”
The principal of the school said she is grateful.
“It’s an opportunity for students to help students, older students to help younger students, and it’s just been a great partnership and it’s been a huge help to us,” said Amy Oots.
Oots said remote learning has been going well. Still, remote learning does not mean online learning only.
That’s where these volunteers come in.
Sutherland said it’s been rewarding to see some of the kids while on his delivery route.
“There has been some interaction from a distance,” he said. “It’s been super positive. People are really happy to get the packets and there were some kids that had a puppy and they were really excited to tell us the name and everything and we dropped off their homework and they thanked us. It’s been an awesome experience.”
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