Residents felt the love last week in the form of free groceries, thanks to two wonderful organizations. Nolan Meija, a Carlsbad teen, created a free grocery shopping service called Grocery Grab, which he and his classmates at Sage Creek High School run for the benefit of older adults and at-risk groups during the pandemic. The Helpful Honda Guys from the San Diego Honda Dealers heard of his story and wanted to pay it forward as part of their Helping the Helpful initiative this month, so they funded groceries for Tavarua residents on behalf of Grocery Grab, and donated gas gift cards to the teen volunteers.
Sixty-five bags of groceries were filled with fresh fruit, milk, eggs, pasta, sauce, a Valentine treat, as well as hand sanitizer and a mask, for the Grocery Grab teens to deliver to residents’ doors. Five residents were invited to come down to the courtyard, at separate times, so they could safely meet and chat with the teens and the Helpful Honda representatives.
The Helpful Honda Guys also heard that Nolan got accepted at Stanford and needed a bicycle for his new college life on campus, so they presented him with a brand new bike to say thank you for his service and dedication to the community.
There was network news coverage of the event, and plenty of pictures were taken to document these very special volunteer groups and the generosity of their work.
Thanks to EngAGE Program Director Tracy Ligon for facilitating and organizing these inspiring Random Acts of Kindness and Helpfulness!
