Two young men are at Guadalupe River Park in San Jose handing out lunches in brown paper bags labeled “Good Samaritans of Santa Clara Valley.”
“Oh, you guys are back!” one recipient says.
“We love your sandwiches,” says another.
Los Gatos natives and best friends Quinton Markett and Jack Rasmussen started Good Samaritans of Santa Clara Valley after coming home from Loyola Marymount University and the University of Southern California, respectively, to shelter in place with their families.
According to Rasmussen, “12 percent of Santa Clara County was classified as food insecure before the COVID-19 pandemic. We estimate the number of those affected has risen dramatically in recent weeks.
“It is our mission as Silicon Valley natives to greet the most marginalized members of our society with humanity and compassion and to distribute nonperishable items as well as hand sanitizer and cloth masks to individuals who face desperate conditions every day.
“After years of volunteering at City Team, a soup kitchen in San Jose, I’ve grown to love helping and connecting with people less fortunate.”
Markett is a graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory and a volunteer EMT. “I’ve been exposed to the Jesuit tradition of service, and I value their history of helping others,” he says. “I’m a member of Bible Way Christian Center, where I’ve helped provide bags of fresh produce to the homeless. Jack and I have the experience and the drive necessary to effectively aid those in need.”
The pair has been to the Guadalupe River Park area three times thus far to hand out bag lunches containing a fresh sandwich, a bag of breakfast trail mix, a banana and sparkling water.
“The first service day we made 30 homemade lunches, the second day 40 lunches, and on our third service day we served 80, “Rasmussen says. “Best of all, we have welcomed four volunteers to our team.
“Our signature sandwich is made with organic bread, peanut butter and jam,” he adds. “After feedback from the community, we have added black forest ham and honey-cured turkey breast sandwiches with mustard and lettuce.”
Learning people’s stories
Sometimes the pair stays to talk with some of the people who get their lunches.
“We’re interacting with people we wouldn’t normally interact with,” Rasmussen says. “We’re learning people’s stories. A lot of unfortunate events have happened to these people to put them in these situations.
“We’ve met some wonderful people, who have taught us lessons,” he adds. “Take Craig, for example. He is a smart, philosophical man who plays the guitar and tells us ‘Every day, you are blessed by so many things!’
“We met Lady Bird, who teaches origami classes and dreams of opening up an origami museum in New Mexico. She blew us away when she said, ‘I like to give the food I get to others because I am giving, and it makes me feel good.’
“And there was the guy who showed us his martial art tricks by the Santa Clara train station and told us, ‘I whack people who drink alcohol with my stick, so they learn never to drink again.’
“The perception is the homeless are lazy, but at the end of the day, they are people who have been dealt a bad hand,” says Rasmussen. “We are all equal; we are all human.”
Donations appreciated
Good Samaritans of Santa Clara Valley is accepting donations of cash or non-perishable food items at https://www.gofundme.com/f/good-samaritans-of-silicon-valley.
Those interested in volunteering with the nonprofit can email Markett at qmarkett@yahoo.com, or text 408-797-4229 or 408-455-7602.
On top of feeding those in need, Markett and Rasmussen are putting their college education to good use by offering free tutoring for K-12 students who are finding it difficult to learn while sheltering in place.
To schedule a tutoring session, visit www.goodsamaritansofsiliconvalley.org.
