www.negociosnow.com
March 2022 37
Age: 29
Title: Project Manager
Name of Organization: ASI Inc.
Cyndy Olivares found a
purpose in working to relieve
the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic. She gathered
goods and found other people
to help her community.
Olivares is a daughter of
Mexican immigrants who
came to the United States in
the late 1970s. She has been
dedicated to helping people
from the time she was just a
toddler, and she grew up in
a household where it was se
-
cond nature to help others in
need. She attended her local
CPS elementary school, went
on to Lane Tech College Prep,
and while a sophomore in high
school received a scholarship
to DeVry University. At age 18
she had graduated from both
high school and from college
with an associate's degree.
She began nonprofit work
in 2019 at Chicago Cares, hel
-
ping others in her own com-
munity. In March 2020, when
the world was abruptly shut-
ting down because of the pan-
demic, Olivares wanted to aid
those around her. She began
collecting spare diapers and
delivering them to commu-
nity people in greatest need.
Soon she started getting both
requests and donations for
other goods such as food and
masks. She quickly built a ro-
tating pantry of items that she
delivered in her spare time.
With the help of family,
she formed a team of drivers
who delivered boxes of food
and hundreds of masks and
diapers weekly to residents
infected with COVID. She
helped serve over 1,200 resi-
dents, getting them resources
and educating them on where
to get tested and how to stay
safe.
In December, when vacci-
nes became available, Oliva-
res scheduled and managed
a vaccination site where over
11,000 people received their
first and second vaccine doses
in the span of eight weekends.
By September 2021 she had
helped to create vaccination
sites that served over 18,000
people in Belmont Cragin alo-
ne.
Pandemic
fighter
Cynthia Olivares
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"A
nyone can change the world,
it's just a matter of taking it
one step at a time, one day at a time
and making sure you leave it better
than you found it."
