Really amazing article about an incredibly generous woman

[flamingyouth]

I needed a pick-me-up and I thought this was great:

Puget Sound Journal: Anna Maria loves the homeless
By JEFFREY M. BARKER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

TACOMA -- If it's a cold night in Tacoma, Anna Maria Garcia will most certainly be driving slowly through downtown streets, her car loaded with donated blankets and food, looking for people in need.
<snip>

"I love that population!" she said, her eyes growing wide, remembering when she first began working with people on the streets of Tacoma. "Because they are like regular people. I get to see the whole person -- the real survivors. You know, we survive, day to day. But these people are true survivors."

On Wednesday, the city will give Garcia, 53, its Helen B. Stafford Courageous Woman Award. The award, in its 13th year, was named for its first recipient, the daughter of a slave and the first female African American employee of Pierce County's Department of Social and Health Services.

"I never think of myself as a 'courageous' woman," Garcia said.
But, she admits, she can understand why some would use that word.
"She's never been afraid to speak up," said Judie Fortier, who works in the city's Human Rights and Human Services Department and was one of the people who chose Garcia for the award. "She does so much. And she does it all on her own."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/178682_journal19.html

[m-jean03]

1. That's great, Lisa!

Thanks for posting it. :hi: :hug: