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Date: 1/20/2021
EASTHAMPTON – Easthampton High School class of 2014 alumni and family members of Samuel “Sammy” Garcia are selling bracelets to honor his memory.
Garcia died on Dec. 16, 2020, from injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle accident on Southampton Road in Holyoke.
The bracelets are purple with white lettering that read, “In Loving Memory Samuel Garcia Jr. 95 to Infinity.” Ali Otis, a friend of Garcia’s who is also selling the bracelets, said “95 to Infinity” represents a tattoo that he had on his chest; he was born in 1995.
The group is asking for a $5 minimum donation for each bracelet and all proceeds will go directly to the Garcia family. People who wish to purchase a bracelet can make payment directly to the person selling the bracelets via Venmo, cash, or checks.
To place an order, people can email braceletsforsammy@gmail.com or message them on their Facebook page, Bracelets for Sam.
According to the Facebook page, local pick-up is available in Easthampton and the group has a few people willing to deliver, depending on the location. Bracelets can also be mailed to those not in the local area.
Those who would like to donate but not purchase a bracelet can email or message the group on Facebook. Due to security reasons, group members are not publicly posting where to send the money; instead, they will inform people via email or messaging.
Sarah Sienkiewicz, a friend of Garcia’s, said the group felt the need to support the family in whatever way they could. “Selling the bracelets was a simple thing that we knew could be done and knew that people would want,” she said.
“Sam was one who was friends with everyone. I loved seeing him interacting with everyone in the hallways and classes with him were never boring. He was a smart, funny, and kind man who got along with everyone. He was always supportive of my fundraising projects throughout high school, along with supporting the drama club. He was the big athletic guy but was there for everyone,” Sienkiewicz added.
Otis, who was friends with Garcia both in and out of the classroom, said she knew him since their elementary days at Center Pepin Elementary Schools and when she transferred back into Easthampton Public Schools to attend the high school.
“He was kind, caring, helpful, intelligent, and hilarious. He could light up any room that he walked into and was loved and known by everyone. Sam was someone that you could bump into and catch up like no time has passed at all,” Otis said.
She recalled that some of her favorite memories with him included the Tiny Tots class with Easthampton High School teacher Sue Mason at the high school in which they worked with young preschoolers. “I believe he took that class more times than we were actually allowed to because he loved Mrs. Mason and those kids so much.”
Sienkiewicz told Reminder Publishing that they have ordered 2,700 bracelets and have sold about 1,000 of them already. If the interest in the bracelets continues they will continue to sell them.
The group is currently making baskets of bracelets to send to The Rumbleseat in Chicopee as well as Tandem Bagel Co. and Big E’s Supermarket in Easthampton so the three businesses can sell them as well.