Between Jan. 7 and Jan. 31, 17 devastating wildfires impacted the Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego County in California. The wildfires were triggered by dry conditions and a heatwave that ignited multiple fires across the communities.
The extensive regions impacted by the fires created a challenging situation for firefighters trying to contain them, leading to their spread into residential areas. The recent wildfires have led to extensive devastation, impacting thousands and harming residences, enterprises and ecological environments.
During this time, various donating programs came together to help the affected communities, and the Aliso Associated Student Body was one of them.
The initiative started with a call for support made by the student council, which requested contributions of canned food, clothing and hygiene products from the Wolverine community, offering community service hours in exchange for each item donated.
Mrs. Mcllelon, the advisor of the National Honors Society (NHS) took charge of the donations, allowing for students to drop the donated goods by her room.
Mcllelon spoke on this issue, “We really got an enormous amount of donations which was really inspiring to see. This room was full of bags and it was amazing to see the different donations from so many different students on campus.”
The primary objective of this event was to make sure that the impacted communities received their urgent necessities quickly. ASB along with the two clubs, NHS and CSF, requested an increase in hygiene products instead of food and clothing.
Each item donated by students was equivalent to one hour of community service for them. This was an amazing opportunity for the members of community clubs like NHS and CSF to fulfill their requirements.
Although there was a limit on the number of hours students could earn from their contributions, the majority of wolverines contributed more than five items.
Mcllelon said, “We had a lot of students get five hours of community service because of their donations. But the wonderful thing is that we had so many students bring and donate more than five items.”
Neka Jazaeri (11) was one of the students who donated items to the fires. She spoke on the issue, “I think it was great that we got to donate and help the people affected by the fires. I hope that our donations will be helpful and come into use.”
At this time, there have been no updates concerning the distribution of donations to those impacted, but the total amount of donations has been substantial.
Mcllelon shared, “We had nearly four full trucks taking all the donations from here to Los Angeles.”
The donations will greatly assist individuals affected in rebuilding their homes and lives, and the Wolverines will persist in bringing the community together and supporting similar relief efforts like those following the tragic fires in Los Angeles.
