Jeff Frazier has been delivering food for the last four years with Caring for Friends, an organization that shares food and friendship with homebound, homeless and hungry people in greater Philadelphia.
He recently had the chance to deliver groceries to Joseph Anderson, a former janitor at Cheltenham High School who is homebound. This time, he had a little help from Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
“It was a wonderful visit. That guy is a physical destroyer on the field, but in person he’s probably one of the nicest guys you can ever want to meet. He’s incredibly approachable. You would never know he’s this big guy on national television who sacks quarterbacks,” Frazier said.
The visit was organized by Caring for Friends through their partnership with Acme Markets and the Eagles. Hargrave was more than willing to join, Frazier said.
“I knew Joseph Anderson’s situation, and he was my first choice to deliver to. He has a pension from his years at Cheltenham High School. He’s also worked as a janitor for the Phillies. He’s had some serious health issues but he isn’t getting much outside help. I’ve been delivering there for three or four years, and I got involved about a month and a half ago helping him with SSDI issues.”
Frazier, a broker with Jenkintown-based eXp Realty, LLC who received an MBA from Arcadia in 2014, is additionally working with his alma mater to migrate digital information to help Caring for Friends upgrade their inventory system.
“I joined Caring for Friends through the Glenside Rotary and Kerry Costello-Leraris, a graduate of an Arcadia University Masters program. She and I have served on Arcadia’s and the Rotary’s leadership committees for a number of years. She’s a teacher in the Philadelphia school district, and I have always admired her. She has a wonderful way to get people to do things that they ought. Kerry delivers as a Rotarian one Saturday a month,” Frazier said. “I have my regular Caring for Friends people that I deliver with on Fridays.”
Frazier said he hopes for more opportunities to team up with Eagles players in the future, and will continue to pay visits to Anderson’s home in Philadelphia.
“It helps me knowing there is people out there to help me. That’s real good,” Anderson said. “I never liked the Cowboys since 1991. So now when I watch, I can say ‘Hey ya’ll, he came to my house!'”
“Anytime you can come and make a difference in the community, it’s very special,” Hargrave said.
NBC10 Philadelphia covered the visit. Check out the clip:
For more on Caring for Friends, you can visit their website here.