Online education company fills up Whole Foods carts for pregnant women’s shelter

More than three shopping carts of food were collected at the Glendale Whole Foods on Tuesday for a pregnant women’s shelter in Pasadena.

Online education company K12 hosted the drive at the grocery store, collecting nonperishable food, such as canned beans, pasta, tomato sauce and cereal as well as funds for the nonprofit Elizabeth House, which provides financial planning, shelter, infant care and counseling for homeless pregnant women.

“It’s important that on this week, we give back to women in need,” said Glendale resident and event organizer Gary Gyultemiryan, a social science teacher for iQ Academy California Los Angeles, a charter school supported by K12.

Cynthia Tkalec, family support coordinator for California Virtual Academies, who also helped organize the food drive, said it’s a good opportunity for her students, who complete their schooling online, to get out and connect with the community.

“Doing things like this gives them real-world experience,” Tkalec said.

The Pasadena shelter serves six pregnant women at a time, as well as any children they have under the age of 5. The mothers typically stay in the shelter between two and four months after their child is born, at which point the agency helps them find permanent housing, according to volunteer Gretchen Dreyer.