Hi everyone, this is Anthony Martinez. And I’m here today with Jayde Powell, the creator of Shopping Angels. So, Jayde, my first question is, “Where did the idea of Shopping Angels come from?”
Jayde: Yeah, so I’m an honors pre-med student at the University and I’m really involved in my community over there. If you know you are at-risk, this can mean you can be a senior or have heart and lung conditions or be immunocompromised and you can really be any age and be affected in those ways. And I figured, you know, what is needed is someone like me who is relatively healthy and I don’t have any fear of going out. I can go shop for people who can’t. So I wanted to try to get my community involved by doing that.
Anthony: I love that. And then how has this, you know, since changed your life?
Jayde: Yeah, I mean it’s just been mind-blowing to see how the communities across the country have come together to really rally behind the cause. I have a 92-year-old client that I help out regularly here in Vegas and she’s the sweetest thing. And you know, it’s so awesome to have these connections with people. And I love being able to connect those clients to volunteers, no matter where they are in the country.
Anthony: Yeah, that’s great. I know my previous intern, they’re now a coordinator in Maryland. And, I was like, I’m interviewing Jayde soon. And they were like the Queen? And I was like yes. So they were super jealous that I get to talk to you. And with that, what does the future hold for Shopping Angels?
Jayde: Yeah, it’s really exciting because we have a lot of people, both volunteers and clients, reached out and say that this a service that they need even outside of the pandemic. So, we are actually in the process of trying to get 501c3 recognition and be a nonprofit. And that way, we can partner with some bigger organizations to continue helping people long term.
Anthony: I love the adjustment and the future vision. And I think the biggest question is, “How can I get involved or other people get involved with Shopping Angels?”
Jayde: Yeah, so there a lot of different ways to get involved. You can be a volunteer who does the grocery shopping and delivery. You get the one-on-one contact with your client and you call them. You could do the coordination and administration side of things, so you know, matching people up, doing emails and all the fun stuff. Or you can sponsor someone in need. So we’ve just launched that with our website, which is shoppingangelsglobal.org, and you can actually help to pay for someone’s items when they can’t afford it.
Anthony: I love that. Thank you so much for letting me ask questions today and I wish you the best with Shopping Angels.
Jayde: Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.
