GREENWOOD — While many area high school seniors are finishing out their careers online through e-learning and missing those long-anticipated year-end traditions, one Center Grove senior isn't spending time worrying about what he is missing.
Instead, he is thinking about what he has — coding skills and business experience. Friends and volunteers to help. And a heart for service.
Dylan Godsave is a senior at Center Grove High School, and he is the creator of a new grocery delivery service called "South Side Delivers."
The website allows people in the Center Grove district who cannot go to the store to place grocery orders online. He has compiled a team of students and volunteers to shop for the people in need and deliver the orders right to their doorstep. And thanks to the other side of his business, this delivery service is free of charge to people in need.
And right now, in the COVID-19 pandemic, the need is great.
"There's really a huge need for this, as we've found out," says Godsave.
In just the first day of launching the site, Godsave says they delivered 77 orders, and more than 300 people visited his website.
The free delivery is made possible by contributions from local businesses. In return, Godsave features their products on the site to promote small businesses during this economic downturn, where many local shops are struggling through a stay-at-home order.
"We kind of reached out to them to see what we can do to help, and so from there that's when we started loading on some of their products to our site," says Godsave.
One of the businesses featured is local apparel store, Coffey Connection Graphics. The store is selling CG spirit wear as well as quarantine shirts.
The site also features Godsave's own small business called Casual Cosmetics with a line of bath bombs for people stuck at home.
Godsave says the volunteers are trained to shop and deliver groceries in a safe way following CDC guidelines, and they are continuing to update training on personal protection. The goods are dropped off at the front doors of the customers.
If you are a person in need who could use a free grocery delivery, are a local business looking to add your items to their site, or if you are able to work as a volunteer, you can connect with Godsave directly by going to their website southsidedelivers.com and filling out the email on the contact tab. Those inquiries go directly to him.
Godsave also tells us they are working to partner with Interchurch Food Pantry to deliver free goods from the food pantry to people in Johnson County who cannot make it to their drive-thru pickup.
If you wish to donate, there is more info on their website. They are using donations to provide free groceries to people who have lost their jobs.
