92130 CARES: WOMAN’S PROJECT CONNECTS NEIGHBORS IN NEED
Families sponsor others nearby with holiday dinners, clothing
CARMEL VALLEY
This holiday season, Cheryl Hsu has a lot to be grateful for. In November, the Carmel Valley resident launched an effort called 92130 Cares as a way to connect local families who had fallen on hard times due to the pandemic with other local families who were in the position to help.
The response was overwhelming and through a simple Facebook group, Hsu was able to connect 135 different families to each other to sponsor Thanksgiving dinners. All within the same ZIP code.
“It’s really been quite an experience and it really makes me feel so good,” she said.
The whole thing happened by chance. Hsu, a mother of three young kids, had always involved her children in community service activities, often working with organizations that serve communities in need in downtown San Diego. With the holidays approaching and many service organizations unable to accommodate volunteers due to the pandemic, she was looking for some way to give back. She posted a message on the NextDoor app looking for somewhere where she could sponsor a local family for Thanksgiving.
“A woman sent me a personal message and said her family here in the community is really struggling during the pandemic and was looking for a place to get a Thanksgiving dinner and couldn’t find one due to COVID,” Hsu said. “She took a leap and asked if I could sponsor her family.”
Hsu found that the woman lived just five minutes away from her home in Pacific Highlands Ranch, in an affordable housing unit. In their communications with each other, Hsu asked the woman if she knew of other families that might need some extra help during these difficult times. The woman believed that she did.
With help from her new friend, Hsu
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