Kim Tobin reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
As college students are seeing the school year come to a unprecedented end, many are trying to help out their communities during this pandemic.
A group of college students are stepping in to help senior citizens. Students are joining an organization called "Leave it to Us", where they go out grocery shopping for seniors citizens— and deliver the groceries right to their doors free of charge.
Eljie Bragasin is a molecular biology student at UCLA and joined a growing group of college students volunteering to do essential shopping runs during the coronavirus pandemic. Bragasin believes the small gesture shows seniors that they aren't alone.
"The gestures that we do shows that we can care about people, even if we don’t have any real connection with them" Bragasin said.
Bragasin said he wanted to give back to the community during this trying time.
"I think a lot of us at UCLA are pretty used to being involve with the community," Bragasin said. "And not being able to do that, really affected us. And we just wanted to be able to offer what we had."
Bragasin's friend and fellow college student Michael Arundel started “Leave it to Us” out of Chicago just a few short months ago.
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Now more than 400 volunteers have signed up with 25 chapters across the country. Arundel said he is proud of his generation during this uncertain time.
"I think it is our time to really get out there and make a difference with the low risk we have and inspire others across the country," said Arundel. "We’re able to provide some certainity in this world at such an uncertain time."
As Bragasin's senior year comes to an unexpected close he said he is more determined than ever.
"It’s really inspiring and although I’m not at that level yet- I want to be able to use what I have now to be as involved as I can," Bragasin said.
If you want to volunteer with the organization or if you’re a senior citizen or someone at risk that needs shopping done, just visit Leave It to Us.
