"This has been such a pouring out of people making a difference that it just makes my heart sing. Anybody can do anything." - a conversation with MJ Richardson - a podcast by Liz Gold

Meet MJ Richardson. She lives in Senior Housing in downtown San Francisco and is currently feeding her homeless neighbors by making masks in a bag. What's a Mask in a Bag? We all have to wear masks these days and these masks are stylish, functional, entrepreneurial and serving community. Tune in to hear MJ talk about how the idea came, her decade-long career at IBM in sales and why she does what she does.

Episode Notes

"I've been in senior housing, right downtown San Francisco for two years. It took me seven years to get in senior housing. But the location is fabulous."

"Because I live in downtown San Francisco, we've forgotten about our neighbors. Once I got this housing downtown, I realized going out the door, I'd see all these mass of people. Hungry, just hungry. And I said, 'I can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I can make a lunch.'"

"Mask in a Bag is a mask with a purpose, OK. First, it protects you and me but more importantly, it feeds the homeless population, which I call my neighbors in the Bay Area. It also creates business because these are all seniors that are owning their own business and creating jobs."

"Two years later we have fed over a 1,000 people. I only live in 400 square feet so my masks have taken over my apartment. But I love it."

"Because I was so blessed, I honestly knew that I needed to do something. Mask in a Bag is the first product. What people see in the product is that first it's well made, secondly it supports our area but also they like the ethnicity of the cloth."

"This has been such a pouring out of people making a difference that it just makes my heart sing. Anybody can do anything."

"How do we reach out to our community because I'm about community, that's one thing you'll see in all of this - to empower other people in their communities."

MJ's bio

Marijewel “MJ” Richardson is an accomplished career woman and entrepreneur. As a lifelong learner, she entered Felton Institute’s Senior Community Services Employment (SCEP) Program where she has flourished. She has helped people like herself find their inner strength, confidence and skills. She has helped to put them on a course for employment through her work at SCEP. Her education in merchandising and her past work along with her passion for helping others find self worth and hope led her to organize successful events, mini makeovers at Sephora and a clothes closet and fashion show, which transformed seniors from the inside out. In addition, MJ developed a hygiene kit for homeless people. Now she is creating a “Mask in a Bag” for her homeless neighbors in San Francisco.

Email MJ: mjrichardson075@gmail.com

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