184: Love Purse - Maria Castro

This week’s guest on The 1 Girl Revolution Podcast is Maria Castro, founder of Love Purse -  a nonprofit organization that is "putting love on the shoulders of women in need, one Love Purse at a time". Maria works full-time as a Regional External Affairs manager at Comcast and is also a reknowned speaker and author. Maria founded Love Purse right in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, when she recognized that many women living in shelters, survivors of domestic violence, survivors of human trafficking, and more - were lacking many necessities and needed a little extra love and support.  Each purse is new and contains many necessities including feminine products, deodorant, soap, body lotion, hand sanitizer, tooth brush, tooth paste, mouth wash, lip balm, nail file, shower slippers, socks, face mask, comb, brush, full size shampoo and conditioner, face cloth, compact mirror, chocolates, mints, floss, notepad, pen, and most importantly, a note of inspiration and love.  Maria says about Love Purse, “We want each woman to know that she matters, she is respected and she is loved. And that this too shall pass. Women don't just carry their purses for fashion, they contain their most private and personal belongings. It's an essential part of their lives.” What started out as a little project of love has grown into a love revolution around the world - with other women, companies, book clubs, church groups, and others, hosting “purse parties” where they collect new purses and fill them with necessities and deliver them to women in need throughout their communities. To date, Love Purse has collected and distributed over 10,000 new purses filled with all kinds of goodies - most importantly of which is a note of love.  In this episode, you’ll hear:  Maria’s inspiring life story; About Maria’s life, upbringing and her family; How she started working for Comcast and how she started writing books and speaking; How Love Purse came to be and you’ll hear about their incredible work to show kindness, love and support to women in our communities and around the world; The powerful story of one woman (of many!) who received a Love Purse and how it transformed her life; And so much more! The 1 Girl Revolution Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and everywhere you listen to podcasts.  For more information about Maria, Love Purse, to donate, and/or to get involved in their work, please visit: }https://1girlrevolution.com/MariaCastro