Years ago when Jeannine and Miguel Garcia first came to the United States, they were welcomed to their first Thanksgiving with a blessing basket full of food and treats that made them feel welcome to their new home in the Fairfax County area.
Fast forward several years, and now the two made a name in real estate with the Keller Williams’ National Landing Real Estate Team, and have adopted the basket idea for others in the community, calling them “Blessing Baskets.” They are now in the third year of creating their own blessing baskets for others to feel as welcomed as they did.
“It’s families helping families,” said Jeannine Garcia.
Their first set of Blessing Baskets consisted of 50 baskets for families connected with Lake Braddock Secondary School where the Garcia’s children were enrolled. The following year, that number grew to 118 baskets for families in 2023, and then 450 baskets in 2025. This year, their goal is 750 baskets they are putting together at an event on Nov. 14 at Lake Braddock.
The first year, a Girl Scout troop came and they painted pictures on the bags, which Jeannine called “just adorable.” In 2024, there got to be so many baskets, one of the volunteers had a U-Haul trailer and “she ended up doing two trips,” Jeannine said. “People get so creative,” she added.
Jeannine and Miguel Garcia are Burke residents with the Keller Williams National Landing Team in the Tysons-Vienna region where they work with buyers and sellers in various ways. In the background of their busy real estate business, the Blessing Baskets are there on another level of their efforts.
Donation Event Details
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026
TIME: 9 AM to 12 PM
WHERE: Lake Braddock Secondary School, Burke, Va.
GOAL: 750 Thanksgiving baskets
Jeannine and Miguel Garcia in the red, with an area family.