Ray McKenna has lived in CityPlace in downtown Toronto for nearly three years and feels it has become “my community.”

So as the COVID-19 pandemic expands, he figured there might be a way to help people affected by the virus in his area.

He’d heard stories of people in self-isolation and quarantine, has seen elderly and disabled people in his community, and sensed a chaotic environment descend on the city as people flooded stores looking to stock up on supplies.

So he posted on his community’s public Facebook group of nearly 1,000 members that he was available to help, if and whenever needed.

“I am here to support you in anyway with shop runs or anything you need that will help you or your families survive,” McKenna wrote Thursday.

The 31-year-old nutritionist who runs Ray McKenna Fitness in the area told the Star the idea came to him in simple terms: everyone needs something to eat, and there are people who may not be able to leave their house to go shopping. So he offered to to pick up and deliver supplies to them.

“You look at all the elderly people being pushed over in the supermarkets, not here but all over the world, and then you realized that these people are probably more scared than anybody,” he said.

“Many people in these situations may not have anybody to take care of them, you know. It’s becoming a little bit of a mess out there.”

By Friday morning, McKenna had yet to receive a call from anyone who needed support, but have had others reach out to offer their services if more help is needed.

As numbers of people infected with COVID-19 rise, governments here have advised cancelling large gatherings, and schools are being shuttered.

But the crisis is also bringing the best out of many people — those who are healthy or may have a low risk of contracting the virus are stepping up to assist the most vulnerable, through acts of kindness small and large.

Professional runner Rebecca Mehra from Bend, Oregon, went viral this week when she shared her experience via Twitter of finding a couple in their 80s stuck in a car outside a grocery store, too “afraid” to get out and buy what they needed. She took $100 from them and a list of what they wanted, went into the store and purchased groceries for them, placed them in the trunk of their car and gave them back change.

“I know it’s a time of hysteria and nerves, but offer to help anyone you can. Not everyone has people to run to,” she concluded on her Twitter thread, which has since garnered thousands of reactions.

Closer to home, in Mississauga, the Islamic Centre of North America Relief Canada, has offered to provide volunteers who can deliver medications and groceries to families who are affected by the novel coronavirus and are in self-isolation. Those in need can contact the group through the helpline: 905-997-8777.

And Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti announced Friday his city is launching a food drive to support local charities and food banks.

“Many are preparing by purchasing groceries and supplies but we should not forget others who may not be as fortunate,” he wrote in a media release. “As we navigate through these challenging times, we must remember that we are all in this together.”

Food delivery service Fresh City Farms announced it would be waiving all delivery fees for the next eight weeks for clients in the GTA, and will begin instituting a no-contact delivery system — leaving deliveries on doorsteps or with the concierge.

At one residential building in midtown Toronto, resident Amanda Bateman drafted a sign-up sheet and posted it on the bulletin board. The notice had two columns: “residents looking to help,” and “residents looking for help.”

“My building has a lot of older people and retirees,” she told the Star, explaining her need to create a community support group during the coronavirus outbreak. “I thought it would be nice if we all started to pitch in to help those who are more vulnerable.”

Bateman, 32, said help could be anything from picking up and dropping off groceries or medication to dog walking.

“I can’t help but think of vulnerable populations, people who are living in shelters, people who are in prison, people who can’t afford to not work for a while, service or entertainment workers who if they don’t get that cheque may not pay their bills,” she said.

“Seniors, people who are immunocompromised, those with disabilities, there’s just a lot of people for whom this (virus) could be quite devastating.”

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Torontonians offer more tips on how to help

Stay in contact with those isolated — remotely

Fears about the spread of the virus means those already socially isolated will become even more isolated — so the broader community needs to keep a sharp eye out for this population, says Zenia Castanos, a counsellor with Family Service Toronto’s seniors and caregivers support services team.

Face-to-face interaction won’t really be possible if there are quarantines or individuals with compromised immune systems, but there are other means of staying in contact — such as phone calls, email or social media networks such as What’s App, Skype or FaceTime, Castanos said.

“If people know they have a neighbour or someone in their community living alone, they can just check in on them, to see if they need anything at the store to lessen the need for them to go out and expose themselves,” Castanos said.

Support a small business through gift cards

Meanwhile, some small businesses are asking that customers and the general public not forget about them.

Amee King, owner of Imelda, a women’s shoe boutique on Toronto’s Roncesvalles Avenue, took to Instagram to post a message encouraging people to purchase gift certificates to her store. She says customers can email her at info@imelda.ca and she’ll mail out the gift certificates using traditional mail. She plans to use e-transfers to accept payments.

“I’m just a small-business owner trying to survive in the wake of COVID-19. And trying to reach out to people to support small businesses, restaurants and shops because we don’t have the luxury of being able to work at home. We rely on our customers to keeps us afloat,” King said in an interview.

King has operated her store for eight years and hasn’t seen a slowdown in walk-in traffic like she saw Thursday this week, a drop clearly linked to people staying away amid the pandemic. Friday was only slightly better, she said.

“I think there were maybe six or seven people coming into the store, which is super rare for a Thursday. The whole street was really quiet. It was a bit apocalyptic yesterday,” King said.

“People are just walking around with packages of toilet paper under their arms and going from A to B pretty quickly,” she added.

She’s trying to remain optimistic, though there’s also a sense of dread, she says.

“I’m trying to stay positive. If you’re not laughing, you’re crying. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned. I have staff to pay for. It’s not like (the) hydro (service) will say you’ve had a rough month so we’ll give you a break, or my landlord will say I’ll take a little off your rent. There are still bills coming in,” said King, who has a staff of six including herself.

Donate at a distance

Meanwhile, Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank, says individuals concerned about going outdoors but who still want to support the charity can make a financial donation to the food bank online at dailybread.ca/ways-to-give/ using their credit card or PayPal account.

Hetherington suggests donors also use their Amazon Prime accounts or equivalent to order non-perishables and have the goods sent directly to the Daily Bread Food Bank at 191 New Toronto Street, Toronto, Ontario, M8V 2E7.

“That would be new for us to start to receive food that way,” he said.