Homeless Lives Matter

EOAC Official
Oct 11, 2020
3 min read

“Because every life deserves care and dignity.”

During the Covid-19 outbreak, Eyes of a Child launched a heartfelt initiative — Covid-19: Because Homeless Lives Matter Too (2020) — to support individuals experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles and Seattle. The project consisted of distributing “Care Bags” filled with essential hygiene and food items, along with critically needed face masks.

How It Began

While continuing our regular programs worldwide, we saw the urgent need to act locally. Many unhoused individuals in Los Angeles faced even greater hardship as public resources and nonprofit outreach decreased.

To help, Eyes of a Child formed a partnership with Microsoft employees in Seattle through our board member Anderson Gobbi. Inspired by his coworkers, including Germaine Yong (now a valued EOAC board member), Anderson introduced this project to expand the same effort happening in Seattle to Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, Pastor Miguel Albanez from the First Brazilian Baptist Church of Los Angeles (PIBBLA) volunteered to personally distribute the Care Bags to as many homeless individuals as possible throughout the city.

Making It Happen

Thanks to the incredible generosity of Microsoft employees, $5,000 was raised to purchase all necessary supplies for the Care Bags. Items were ordered through Amazon and delivered to Anderson’s home, where dedicated volunteers from PIBBLA helped assemble them.

Each Care Bag included essential hygiene items, snacks, and handcrafted reusable fabric face masks sewn by Nelci Pizzi — a thoughtful touch that combined safety with sustainability.

Each Care Bag contained: one face mask, one Colgate toothbrush, one Crest whitening toothpaste, two water bottles, four rolls of toilet paper, one chocolate, one Nature Valley granola bar, one pack of dried pineapple snacks, four Lifesavers green mints, one travel-size Degree deodorant, two small bags of Welch’s fruit snacks, one travel-size tissue pack, two small Ziploc bags, one Chap Ice mini lip balm, one small easy-to-open can of Vienna sausage, and one travel-size Jergens/Cure lotion.

Reaching Those in Need

Los Angeles, California: With the help of Pastor Miguel Albanez, who has been serving the homeless community since 2018, Eyes of a Child distributed 150 Care Bags across Chinatown and Huntington Park.

May 2020: 45 Care Bags were distributed at the Royal Pagoda Motel in Chinatown (995 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012). The motel provides shelter to the homeless community at certain times of the year. For safety, the bags were sanitized and given to motel management to distribute.
July 2020: 100 Care Bags were distributed at a Homeless Community Center in Huntington Park. Bags were also sanitized and delivered to management for safe distribution.

Seattle, Washington: In April 2020, Care Bags were distributed at the Enactus City University of Seattle (521 Wall Street, Seattle, WA 98121) through the nonprofit organization The Sophia Way, which helps fight homelessness in Seattle.

Why It Matters

In addition to their already difficult living conditions, homeless individuals faced even greater barriers during the pandemic — limited access to food, hygiene, and safety resources. Many nonprofits were forced to reduce outreach, leaving this vulnerable population even more isolated. By providing Care Bags and face masks, EOAC sought not only to meet urgent needs but also to protect our entire community. When we help them, we help us all.

Our Gratitude

A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who made this initiative possible:

Anderson Gobbi, for leading this project and connecting both regions.
Germaine Yong, for helping expand the effort from Seattle to Los Angeles.
Pastor Miguel Albanez and the PIBBLA volunteers, for hands-on support and distribution.
Nelci Pizzi, for crafting reusable Care Bags and facemasks with love.
Estela Franco, for her dedication, updates, and close follow-up from start to finish.

To all who donated, volunteered, and believed in this mission — thank you. Together, we proved once again that kindness has the power to change lives. 💙