Irish American hero shops for seniors afraid of COVID-19 spread

A small business owner in Chatham, New Jersey is making a big impact on his community by looking after the seniors in his community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greg Dailey owns and runs the store Frames on Main, in Chatham, NJ. For the past 25 years, he's also been supplementing his income by getting up at 4am every morning and delivering newspapers in the Mercer County area. He has 800 homes on his daily route.

Dailey's role changed in mid-March with the out-break of coronavirus in the United States. One of his clients, Phyllis Ross (88) requested that he drop her newspaper closer to her front door. She was scared of going too far from her door due to COVID-19, a virus that is tremendously dangerous to seniors.

Read more: Irish World War II hero beats COVID-19

Dailey told Good Morning America, "I went to the store and I thought to myself, 'How in the world is she going to get groceries.'

“This woman is afraid to walk even a few steps out of her home. How in the world, with the coronavirus leaving many seniors afraid to even open the door to their homes, was she getting groceries?” 

The next day he called Ross to see if there was anything he could do to help. 

She said "We were absolutely floored when he called. At my age, I'm afraid to go into a store."

Then when Dailey was at the store Ross called and asked if Dailey could pick up a few things for another senior neighbor. Dailey realized how many elderly, disabled and comprised people were isolated and how dire the situation was. 

That evening he wrote this message, made 800 copies, and put them into every newspaper he delivered. 

Within hours the emails started to roll in. Dailey realized that he had to call in more help, his family. 

Read more: Frontline Hero - A day in the life of an Indianapolis ER nurse

Dailey's daughter Erin (24) organized the orders on an Excel sheet. His wife Cherlyn (48) ordered items ahead of time and his sons Sean (21) and Brian (16) were on call to carry groceries.

The Dailey family has been spending seven hours a day compiling lists, shopping, disinfecting items, and, most importantly, delivering the groceries.

Dailey said "Times are tough. Some of us should not be out of the house at all, they need produce....they need medicine....they need toiletries. I told one of the gentlemen, I can stop at the liquor store if you want. His eyes went wide.’”

The Irish American NJ man said he's not sure when this will end of his family. He said "We are at the very beginning of this. It’s going to be months.

 "We are going to do everything we can to help people get through it.

 "Everyone is so grateful.

 "It's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done in my life.”

Read more: Frontline hero: Finding the strength I didn't know I had