Neighborly love: 92130 Cares group makes a local impact

92130 Cares volunteers help distribute masks.

Feb. 2, 2022 4:53 AM PT

Local nonprofit 92130 Cares continues to find ways to make a difference in the Carmel Valley and Pacific Highlands Ranch community, built on the strength and kindness of helpers and volunteers.

Founder Cheryl Hsu started the grassroots group in November 2020 as a way to help local families who face food insecurity and financial hardship, while making connections and building a sense of home. The group evolved from a successful Adopt-a-Family Thanksgiving project to a clothing drive and, now, free food distribution events held every weekend at low-income housing communities in Carmel Valley.

Now with 501c3 nonprofit status, 92130 Cares is closing in on the one-year anniversary of its food distribution events, called the Free Farmer’s Market. At the Jan. 23 market, they gave out 2,500 pounds of food.

In late January, 92130 Cares got another opportunity to give back to the community when they received a donation of 100 cases of surgical masks. The cases amounted to 4,000 boxes of masks with 50 masks per box for a total of 200,000 individual masks.

“We have been asked many times at our Farmer’s Market if we have extra masks,” said Hsu. “We’ve noticed that many of our shoppers have cloth masks or masks that are really worn out.”

92130 Cares volunteers came up with a plan to drop off one box of masks to each of the 811 low-income housing units in the 92130 zip code that they are aware of.

Dozens of community members volunteered to help distribute the masks on Jan. 21-22, many of them youth and families with young kids.

Hsu said many residents thanked them for the masks and others commented on the 92130 Cares Facebook page to tell them how much they were needed: One woman works two jobs and goes through masks very regularly; another woman with four kids said she was always in need of masks for her family.

“92130 Cares continues to show me that we live in the best community where neighbors continue to step up and help one another during these difficult times,” Hsu said.