One Hollywood restaurateur is on a mission to nourish spirits as well as bodies.Oscar de Cardenas, owner of Sub City on Hollywood Boulevard, has delivered hope along with warm clothing to the homeless in Hollywood and Miami since temperatures started dropping in December.
De Cardenas has personally distributed hundreds of basic necessities – including jackets, sweaters, blankets and shoes – over the course of about a half-dozen trips to Hollywood, Downtown Miami and the Broward Outreach Center in Hollywood.
Caring Sub City customers, responding to de Cardenas’ simple plea to help those living on the street during a time of uncharacteristically cold weather, donated the items.
“I put a sign on the door, and it’s worked,” de Cardenas said.
The Hialeah resident’s philanthropic efforts began about four years ago following a large Thanksgiving dinner with family. De Cardenas said he was inspired to help feed the local homeless population “when I saw so much food was going to get thrown away.” Instead, he put the potential waste to good use, distributing his family’s Thanksgiving leftovers to people living on the streets of Miami.
On another occasion, de Cardenas and his brother Jorge purchased close to 100 cheeseburgers from a fast-food restaurant and several cases of water, which they handed out among the homeless. Jorge de Cardenas also is conducting a separate clothing drive at his own business, a convenience store in Miami Springs.
During a run to Miami last month, Oscar de Cardenas sweetened his clothing distribution with batches of cookies and cups of coffee.
“The people were so, so grateful,” he said. “I do it to help others that are in need. God touched my heart.”
De Cardenas got the idea for the clothing drive during South Florida’s first cold spell in December. It was after 9 p.m. and he and his wife, Mariela, had just finished dinner at a restaurant. It suddenly hit him that they would be returning to the warmth and comfort of their home while so many people were suffering with neither shelter nor adequate clothing to brave the elements.
And so, de Cardenas gathered up some warm items and “we drove up as a family,” he recalled.
Since being exposed to the homeless problem, de Cardenas’ daughters Victoria, 15, and Cristina, 10, “ask questions, and I try to answer them the best I can,” he said. “They realize that, yeah, we’ve got what we need and much more, and we’ve got to share.”
De Cardenas said the homeless population in Hollywood is sometimes difficult to find because they tend to be scattered and move around frequently, as opposed to congregating in established camps. And now, whenever he notices someone walking around with a backpack, it gives him pause to wonder about that person’s circumstances.
“You just don’t know whose backpack has their whole life in there,” he said.
De Cardenas said the people that he’s come in contact with on the streets of Hollywood and Miami have been very thankful for the concern he shows them.
“Some of them have told me a little about their story, and I stop and pray with them,” he said.
De Cardenas is hoping that generous donations from the public will enable him to continue his deliveries to the homeless members of the South Florida community throughout the winter season and beyond.
“As long as it’s coming in, I’ll do it,” he said.
De Cardenas also hopes that, through his efforts, others will realize there’s a need out there and be inspired to take action.
“Maybe God will touch their heart to do something,” he said.
To donate new or used clothing or blankets to de Cardenas’ cause, visit Sub City at 4300 Hollywood Blvd.
