Meet Ranela Sunga | Social Media coordinator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ranela Sunga and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ranela, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Heart of Compassion began in 2003 when founder Pastor Eric Tietze went door-to-door in the community of Pico Rivera, inviting neighbors to a free breakfast in a church parking lot. His purpose for this is to share the word of God. When Saturday morning breakfast grew to over 100 people, Pastor Eric began to search out food donations to keep the project going. As word spread, he started the Heart of Compassion ministry and decided to not only feed his neighbors but send them home with food as well. Soon, hundreds of people throughout the other parts of Los Angeles County began to show up to receive the blessing. From these humble beginnings, Heart of Compassion has grown to be a multi-million-pound food bank and distribution, providing food, clothing, toys, and more to Southern California communities.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets Heart of Compassion (HOC) apart from others is how much we help different people in different aspects of their lives. Below are some of HOC’s services: 1. HOC works with a network of over 150 non-profit organizations, such as after-school programs, homeless shelters, veterans’ organizations, churches, rehab homes, and other food banks.
2. HOC not only helps low-income families with food but also takes the homeless and addicted off the streets to restore their lives. HOC teaches and gives them jobs and life skills that provide core labor in the facility.
3. Environmentally, HOC partners with the California Climate Action Corps (CCAC) to help combat climate change by diverting food waste from landfills.
4. HOC also provides various classes about mental health, anger management, parenting, and many more.
Pastor Eric calls our annual events Cinderella Day, for it is a day of transformation for the people. Annual events provide people with free haircuts, showers, clothes, food, and other resources they can use.
There’s always a struggle with finances, but HOC is blessed with amazing donors. Having an entirely volunteer staff is also a struggle because of scheduling and availability. Thankfully, HOC has dedicated and consistent volunteers who help manage and maintain the facility. There will always be good people who want to help the community.

As the controller here, I am responsible for all the daily accounting reconciliation and data entry, CPA audit assistant, receptionist as needed, greeter to all volunteers, allocate all weekly/monthly ministry pickups and demographics, process new partnership applications, event speaker/representative as needed, collaborator for our events & line up resources provided, and fill in when needed; team player.

What sets me apart from others:

I think life experience has given me the ability to show and lead with compassion, communication, and understanding for the goals at hand.

Most proud of our 5 kids, 5 grandkids, BS, MBA, and brain aneurysm survivor 3x.

How did you get here professionally:

Losing my job after my aneurysms, I went back to school for 10 years and timed out half way into my Doctoral for Societal Impact Management. I started volunteering to get back into the workforce and have been here for 5 years now.

It has not been easy as I struggled with the cognitive part of the brain and was consistently frustrated with not being able to share what I was thinking..my brain and mouth were not on the same level.

The lessons learned along the way:

Never give up, we all have purpose, there is power in prayer, and to walk by faith not by sight.

What I want people to know:

Surround yourself with like minded people, have realistic goals, and watchout for the impostor syndrome within us all, You are worth it!!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When my cousin visited us from Washington, I brought him to HOC to volunteer. People should volunteer at least once because volunteering is a life-changing and fulfilling experience. Volunteering helps not just the recipient but also the volunteers themselves. Volunteering in HOC can help people improve their mental and physical health and introduce them to new people and purpose.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We want to thank our dedicated volunteers who consistently come back to help us with our weekly distributions and annual events. We also like to thank our donors like CVS Pharmacy, Bargain Wholesales, Bimbo Bakeries, Westlake Produce Company, Professional Produce, and many more for their generosity towards the community. We’re grateful for our supportive community leaders such as Senator Bob Archuleta, LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, now former Montebello mayors David Torres and Kimberly Cobos-Cawthorne, Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, and many others. Heart of Compassion is not government-funded, so we appreciate all the help we get to perform our operations.

Website: https://www.heartofcompassionca.org/

Instagram: heartofcompassionca

Linkedin: Heart of Compassion Distribution

Facebook: Heart of Compassion Distribution

Yelp: Heart of Compassion Distribution

Other: tiktok: heartofcompassionca

Image Credits
Still Moments Photography, Ernest Peralta photography, Christina Strickling