Lamorinda Care Collective Supports Local Families
By Trever Krick and Gwyneth Lee, Print Arts Editor and Print Feature Editor
Citizens of Lafayette are coming together to volunteer and donate to a growing program in downtown Lafayette. Originally a holiday pop-up, the Lamorinda Care Collective has evolved into a center of community care that extends beyond the holiday season.
The Lamorinda Care Collective is a pop-up kindness shop for families with unmet needs. Maya Enista-Smith founded the group in December 2024. The pop-up was initially planned to stay open for 12 days, but it eventually chose to offer its services on a long-term basis.
The group’s goal is to give back to the community and assist local families during the holiday season. Specifically, the care collective’s goal is to support local families.
“It was my first holiday season since my mom passed away, and I was trying to think of a way to put kindness and love and happiness into what would otherwise be a pretty sad holiday season,” Enista-Smith said. “I have worked in the non-profit world for the last 25 years and knew that there were a bunch of unmet needs during the holiday seasons for neighbors and families served by incredible non-profits in the area.”
The group collects donations from community members, holding them in a single store where they are sorted and made available to those who visit.
“My goal was to create an inclusive, welcoming, safe place where people felt like they could share the burdens and lift some of the burdens that they faced,” Enista-Smith said. “I wanted to create a one-stop shop where folks would be able to get everything they wanted and everything they needed. So it's a place where people shop for free.”
The care collective relies on donors and volunteers for support, with volunteers working at the store in shifts and the donors contributing the items that the collective distributes. These items consist of kids' clothes, nonperishable food items, houseware, makeup, and toys.
“We have had such overwhelming support from our community, with amazing volunteers and endless donations,” Lamorinda Care Collective Volunteer Coordinator Beth Brown said. “We have a list of over 140 volunteers who have the desire to support this program with time and donations.”
Outside of local support, the group partners with many non-profit organizations, including Covenant House, East Bay Agency for Children, Jewish Family and Community Services, Occupational Therapy Training Program San Francisco, Burma Refugee Family Network, the White Pony Express, and Grateful Gatherings.
Although they originally planned to stay open for just 12 days during the holidays, the care collective saw the community group’s impact on the community and decided to operate weekly.
“We closed for January 2025 because we were initially just thinking we were going to be open for 12 days and then go away,” Enista-Smith said. “And in January, we sat down and had coffees with our volunteers and ... about it and were like, we really miss this place and we want it to keep going. So it's been open at least once a week, every week since February 2025.”
The care collective’s continuance allows for families in need to access materials all throughout the year, not just around the holiday season.
“It is so important for people to have a place to turn to when they are in need, and we have plenty of people in our very own community that can use a helping hand,” Brown said. “We do not ask anyone to prove they are in need; we ask them to simply take what they need so that others can do the same.”
As the group remains active, they aim to strengthen community connections and extend support to those who require it.
“My hope is that we continue to leverage the generosity and kindness that I've seen firsthand in this community to help welcome and include the families that we've been able to serve through the Lamorinda Care Collective,” Enista-Smith said.
