Thanksgiving is a beautiful day to come together with family and friends to celebrate life and the blessings we’re fortunate to have while feasting on a typical Thanksgiving spread. But, there are several individuals and families in America that don’t celebrate because of extreme poverty. According to recent reports from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are about 567,715 homeless people across the country.
There are several ways individuals indulge in charity on Thanksgiving, such as donating food, sponsoring food drives, volunteering at soup kitchens, or making cash contributions. Entrepreneur Manny Garcia chooses to make substantial donations towards the homeless every year for Thanksgiving. The holiday is exceptionally close to his heart speaking that he once lived in extreme poverty and can empathize with the people and families struggling. “Thanksgiving is the most important holiday to me because it serves as a reminder of where I came from; and my journey towards achieving a successful life. It humbles me and makes me feel truly grateful for my life, beautiful family and thriving business. Every year I make significant contributions with the hope to make a difference in a homeless person’s life whether it be bringing a smile on their face or a glimmer of hope for a better future,” he shares.
Serial entrepreneur and philanthropist, Manny Garcia grew up in poverty with aspirations to create a better life for his family and himself. Financial freedom served as the driving force and he worked relentlessly to create just that. He built his first business in the auto collision industry in 2009. Since then, he’s launched several businesses in the real estate, automobile and fashion industries. He shares, “One of the main motivating factors in achieving success was the ability it offered to give back to the community. Contributing to important causes and helping transform lives brings me an immense amount of joy and happiness.”
It’s even more important to give back this Thanksgiving considering the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the number of people homeless to rise significantly.
