Santa Monica College (SMC) has become the fulcrum of local wildfire relief, a space where thousands of volunteers have sifted through countless donations since the fires began and the college has become an oasis of resources for victims of all Los Angeles County wildfires reflecting the countywide student body.
The Corsair Gym at 1900 Pico Blvd. serves as the distribution center, where volunteers have been helping the SMC Foundation set up for the event.
“I’m feeding off the positive energy that’s coming, (volunteers are) just amazing,” SMC Foundation President and Dean of Institutional Advancement Dr. Lizzy Moore said on Tuesday. “There are 150 people here right now folding clothing, taking off their day and taking a lot of pride on what they’re doing … we are LA strong, we want our brothers and sisters in Palisades, Malibu and everywhere (to be safe).”
Moore saw the flames of the Palisades Fire from her office on that fateful Tuesday, Jan. 7. By the next afternoon, she had organized a call with 35 representatives of different agencies, mobilizing to begin a collection drive before distribution. The collection drive initially started at SMC’s Bundy campus before pivoting to the Main Campus because of “such a tremendous outpouring” of donations.
Along with community donations, SMC was able to collect “thousands and thousands” of blankets, sharing gently used ones with families at the First AME Church in Pasadena who were displaced from the Eaton Fire. National brands also pitched in, with Kut from the Kloth donating two box trucks full of new jeans, jackets and tops; blackcrows donating new clothes and jackets and doublesoul donating 8,000 pairs of brand new socks.
Moore was thankful for all of this, particularly the socks which she said was a “big thing for our community that’s in need all the time.” The SMC Foundation works to provide gently used clothing and food supplies to students in need year-round, expanding the ethos in this time of need.
“We do it every week, all the time, (so we thought) why don’t we just do it for our entire community, regardless of what (or) how need is defined,” Moore added. “It’s for fire victims, it’s for family members, it’s for that next concentric circle of people who may have lost jobs because they’ve (lost) their offices.”
With over 100 SMC students and dozens of staff members reporting displacement from the fires, the SMC Foundation will be issuing emergency grants, with over $154,000 raised so far via the Santa Monica Community College Disaster Support Fund. SMC also received a $250,000 gift from The Ballmer Group to this end, and will begin issuing grants next week.
For students and staff in immediate need of supplies, The SMC Foundation drive will have special “preview hours” before the distribution drive opens to the public each day.
“It’s just the definition of what community means … everyone has hitched their wagon to ours because we know how to do this, we know how to be that centerpiece, that location where everybody knows where we’re located, we know how to (support) people in need with dignity and care,” Moore said of the support.
The main campus’ Fire Disaster Support Distribution event began Wednesday, and will continue on Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Fire Disaster Support Distribution event will also have mobile van service present from Providence St. John’s Health Center, and will have hot meals available to all attendees and volunteers from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily via World Central Kitchen.
To volunteer for the distribution event, visitfoundation.smc.org/disaster-support.
