Kinesiology student squeezes seniors’ errands in between exams
First-year kinesiology student Ava Katz is helping seniors and those who are self-isolating get their groceries and prescriptions -- and it all started with a Facebook post.
Ava Katz picks up hot meals from the kitchen of the Louis Brier Home in Kerrisdale for delivery to another group home as part of her volunteer work with the Beth Israel Jewish Synagogue. Credit: Paul Joseph/UBC
This story is part of the “Making a difference” series, in which we shine a spotlight on the many ways—both big and small—that UBC community members are helping with the response to COVID-19. Share your story with us at media.relations@ubc.ca.
In ordinary times, first-year kinesiology student Ava Katz commutes to UBC from Kerrisdale, where her housemates include her 91-year-old grandmother and a mother with a heart condition.
In these extraordinary times, Katz doesn’t want her loved ones risking their health with unnecessary trips to the grocery store. So in March, Katz began making those trips herself. As she was transporting groceries home from Save-On Foods, something occurred to her.
“It dawned on me that there are people in the community who don’t have family, who don’t have anyone else to go out for them,” says Katz.
Her final exams were just a couple of weeks away. It’s the time of year when most students’ instincts are telling them to clear their schedules of any distractions. Katz’s instincts were telling her to do something else.
She posted a public note on Facebook:
The calls came quickly. Just a couple at first, but more and more as her friends returned from school in the U.S. and overseas. They all had to self-isolate for 14 days, so they couldn’t do anything for their own grandparents who were shut in. Katz stepped in.
“That was just kind of a no-brainer for me,” she says. “I was happy to do those things, and still am.”
Katz has been spending her study breaks shuttling to and from supermarkets and pharmacies all over Vancouver. Each outing brings her into the orbit of people who potentially carry the virus. Katz has heard the stories about the toll COVID-19 takes on its victims. She wears a mask and takes great care not to bring the virus back to the people she’s helping.
She still makes the trips for her mom and grandmother, walks her two dogs, and also delivers food between two seniors’ homes twice a week as a volunteer for Congregation Beth Israel, the Jewish synagogue. It’s a lot to do, but as far as Katz is concerned, it’s the least she can do.
“It definitely scares me that I could be exposing myself, but people need help,” Katz says. “I’d rather sacrifice myself than have a senior go into a grocery store and contract the virus instead.”
Many of the volunteers who were delivering food between the two seniors’ homes when COVID-19 arrived were older folks themselves. It was too risky for them to continue, so the congregation put out a call for new volunteers. Katz was among the first to step up, despite her busy exam schedule.
“Crisis brings out the best and the worst in people, and I think Ava is one of those examples of it bringing out the best,” said Krystine McInnes, volunteer coordinator for the synagogue. “The idea of selfless service and loving our neighbours as ourselves—she really embodies that.”
Helping people is in Katz’s blood. Her grandfather was a doctor for more than 60 years. Katz came to UBC thinking she would go into medicine eventually, too. Nothing during her first year has changed that. In fact, the COVID-19 outbreak has given her even more respect for the healthcare and support workers who keep our hospitals functioning every day.
“They are real heroes,” says Katz. “I have a huge respect for what it takes to provide care to so many people at a time like this, and it reinforces my commitment to be a part of it.”
