FREMONT, Mich — Finding purpose during this pandemic may be easy for some, but others have to get creative. A Fremont teenager has found his purpose by turning his part-time job as a grocery bagger into the full-time help his community needs.
Jaxon Deur is a junior at Fremont High School. When it closed two weeks ago to curb the spread of coronavirus, Deur knew he needed to find a way to stay busy.
"I've always stayed active in sports, school and work," said Deur, 16. "I can't really just sit at home."
Deur's story actually starts a year ago, long before COVID-19 entered into the picture. He took a part-time job at Bill's Shop-n-Save, which is a small grocery story located in the heart of downtown Fremont.
Deur accepted a job there as a grocery bagger.
"I ask if the customers want paper or plastic," said Deur. "Those are normal bagging rules."
A year later, Michigan finds itself in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, and people have been ordered to stay inside their homes, unless they have an essential need.
"I don't really know how to react to it," Deur said. "At first, my friends and I thought this would be a short break, but now we're all worried about it."
Two weeks ago, Deur came up with an idea, and posted it to a Facebook page entitled, "Life in Fremont, Michigan." Deur posted that he'd be willing to take grocery orders from people and then deliver their items.
Deur says that within minutes after posting, the comment thread began to populate and the post started getting shared.
"Before the night was over, the post was shared more than 500 times," said Deur. "The very next morning, people were already calling the store saying they want to use my delivery service."
Thus, it began.
In the two weeks since the Facebook post, Deur says it's now been shared over 1,100 times, and he's been averaging 7 to 10 personal grocery deliveries each day.
"If I'm not at the store, they've been giving out my phone number, so they can call me anytime," Deur said. "I will call back and set up the best time for the delivery."
Bill's Shop-n-Save doesn't have a company car, with a fancy store logo on it, for Deur to use during his numerous deliveries. So, he uses his personal vehicle to get the job done.
"A lot of people in the community have been giving me gas money and gas cards," Deur Said. "My teachers at Fremont High School have been helping me with gas money, too."
Deur says his plan is to keep his one-man delivery service going through at least spring break. After that, who knows.
"If school closure does get extended, I will for sure keep doing it through the summer," added Deur. "It feels real good to be able to give back during a time like this and really help out my community."
Most of Deur's deliveries happen between regular business hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. No Sunday deliveries.
For anybody living in Fremont who would like to contact Jaxon Deur for a delivery, you can reach him by calling Bill's Shop-n-Save: (231) 924-5850.
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