Meet Our Community Hero: Eva Garcia

Know someone making an impact in your community? Nominate them for Community Heroes Award!

Tell us about yourself: 

I grew up in the Bay Area and I now live in San Francisco with my 15-year-old son. I was working at a dental office until the pandemic hit and then I was laid off. In a way, I feel like it was a blessing because I was given the chance to spend time and stay home with my son while receiving unemployment and look for jobs to take care of us. It was also what drove me to start this project for people in need, as I felt like I was given this time to help out as much as I could. 

How did you get started?

eve garcia with supplies

Well due to Covid I got a lot more time in my hands so I found myself picking up a lot of things from the Buy Nothing Group. I was able to put new furniture and change my whole place around since it was time for a change, I started giving out a lot of my own stuff. I thought people could find it useful instead of just tossing it away. My loss could be your treasure. I said why not do something good for the community and give the community something back. 

What are some of the things you’ve done for the community?

eve garcia with supplies

I put together kits with personal cleaning products and snacks for the homeless. For the women I always put together Ipsy-like bags with self-care products for them to use such as perfume, lotion, and jewelry. I have also inspired a lot of people to help others out during this time, my inspiration was this homeless person walking down the street that asked for a blanket so I decided to start giving those out as well.  

What are some of the challenges you face?

eve garcia with supplies

Doing all of these projects take a lot of time, having to drive around the whole city by myself and having to pump gas in my car at least three times a day was one of those challenges. It was a bit stressful to handle everything that comes in and out since it can all get messy. Thankfully, I got help from a friend to implement a system where everything was now put in a spreadsheet and much easier to navigate. 

How has your community evolved?

eve garcia with mask

A lot of people donated to me in many ways, which I’m so grateful for. I’ll post that I will be doing another round of donations and I’d instantly receive so many comments and messages from people. Everyone is so giving and they love that I do this for the community and I love that they can and want to help me be able to do this for the people in need. I feel like I’ve received a lot more help from this group than some of my own friends.

What makes you want to keep doing this?

eve garcia with happy customers

It makes me happy knowing that I am sharing my blessings with others, I do this for simple pleasure. Knowing that I am able to provide for other people when they’re at their lowest and doing this out of my heart and seeing how people are thankful makes me feel so happy.