Sponsored message
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
Education

Santa Monica College hosts donation drive to help Westside fire victims

Smoke billows in the background of a sandy beach area with rollercoasters.
Plumes of smoke are seen as a brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades as seen from Santa Monica, California on January 7, 2025.
(
Agustin Paullier
/
AFP via Getty Images
)

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

Topline:

Santa Monica College will hold a donation drive this Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 13-14, to gather aid for students, employees, and other community members who’ve been affected by recent fires.

How have students been affected? Campuses throughout Greater L.A. opted to pivot to remote instruction this past week in response to numerous wildfires. Officials have told students and faculty to stand by for updates as they continue to monitor the fires and the weather conditions over the weekend.

What can I donate? The SMC Foundation will collect food (including pasta, lentils, rice, and canned goods); hygiene products; baby supplies (including wipes, formula, and pacifiers); and new or gently used clothing and blankets.

Where and when: The drive will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at SMC's Bundy Campus, 3171 S. Bundy Drive, Los Angeles. (Good to note: This is not the main campus.)

How else can I help? The SMC Foundation has also established a Disaster Support Fund. Its goal is to raise at least $250,000 to provide students, faculty, and staff with temporary housing, food, water, clothing, transportation, medical supplies, school materials, and support with other immediate needs.

Go deeper: Experts tell us the best way to help LA's fire victims right now

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right