LOS ANGELES — Just weeks ago, the 9ThirtyLA venue in downtown’s Arts District was known as a trendy spot for events, its wooden beams and concrete floors serving as the perfect backdrop for concerts, corporate parties and more.
But after fires began to devastate the Los Angeles region, community organizers and a wave of volunteers turned an industrial venue into a makeshift refuge, with beds and tables filled with everyday essentials, like hygiene products and clothing. With help from local organizations (LoveChild Hospitality, the ANE Foundation, ImpactLA and the AFTP Foundation), the venue has become one of the countless set up across the region to help wildfire evacuees cope with the devastation.
“What’s been beautiful is that our community has offered so much that we now have this full warehouse of things that could be a great starting point for somebody who just lost everything,” said Waseel Amoura, an organizer at the 9ThirtyLA venue.
Feeling helpless about the devastating natural disaster that has killed at least 24 people and swept through 40,000 acres in the Greater Los Angeles area, many Angelenos like Amoura have rushed to help those in need.
In every pocket of the region, people have been organizing drives for essential and nonessential items, collaborating with nonprofit groups that have served the area for years and turning community spaces (like local YMCAs) and massive venues (like Santa Anita Park) into donation centers lined with seemingly endless piles and boxes of donations to be sorted. Some have organized food drives to deliver fresh meals and snacks to first responders and evacuees. Others have mobilized to make care packages for those in need. Animal shelters and rescue organizations have also been inundated with donations and volunteers to help support the influx of animals taken in during the wildfires. And restaurants have continued to offer free meals to first responders, with some also organizing their own donation drives.
It has been a widespread effort, fueled by social media, that has not one clear leader but many — from celebrities and influencers to normal folks, all walks of life have come together to support the city and the region they call home.
Across Los Angeles County, people have been amplifying fundraising campaigns from wildfire survivors by resharing posts from organizations accepting donations and volunteers. Many have circulated a regularly updated master spreadsheet of volunteer opportunities that was created by the Mutual Aid Los Angeles Network, which shares mutual aid efforts and resources. Another popular spreadsheet created by an online user has also been put online, with similar updates. As people flocked to help, the “Volunteers Needed” label at many such locations have quickly flipped to “FULL TODAY.”
Adrienne Nicole Edwards, founder of the homeless outreach organization ANE Foundation, said volunteer professionals are on call to give services such as haircuts and therapy, while real estate agents are also flying in from New York to help people navigate their newfound housing needs.
Local real estate agents have also been posting on social media, helping those who have lost their homes find new spaces to rent and working to help supply them with furniture as they land on their feet.
On Monday at 9ThirtyLA, dozens of volunteers crowded the trailer door of a U-Haul truck that just arrived, packed to the brim with boxes of donations for evacuees. Box by box, they unloaded the truck and began categorizing everything from makeup to bedding.
In the shelter area, mattresses are fitted with fresh seats, with unopened sets of bedding resting on top. The facility is also stocked with hot meals from local restaurants, and a refrigerator is available to keep medications cold.
“I just try to make it comfortable. You have to give people their space, plus you have to make room for their personal stuff,” Edwards said, adding: “We have pallets of brand-new sheets so people can take their choice. Some people prefer a certain color scheme. So we just want to give people that feeling of normalcy again.”
Across Los Angeles County in Altadena, where the Eaton Fire has heavily affected the community, many grassroots relief efforts were also underway. One of the biggest endeavors was organized by a 14-year-old middle school student named Avery Colvert, who started “Altadena Girls” to help collect beauty and hair care products for affected teen girls in the area.
Within days, her organization gained viral traction, with celebrities like Paris Hilton and Charli XCX sharing the campaign and visitors like James Charles coming to help volunteer. In a social media post Monday showcasing bins and bags of donations piled on the street outside the donation site, Altadena Girls announced that it was “beyond full” with donations.
On Monday, several other locals formed Altadena Teen Boys Fire Recovery, inspired by Colvert.
The organizations have joined other existing community efforts, including the Pasadena Community Job Center, which is enlisting its volunteers to sweep up debris from the streets.
County residents also continue to drop bags of donations into at pop-up locations across the area.
On the Westside of Los Angeles, which was hit hard by the Palisades Fire, wildfire relief drives at locations like the Westchester Family YMCA have laid out stacks of clothing, canned foods and other essentials for evacuees to pick up.
Read more of NBC’s L.A. wildfires coverage:
Baby2Baby, a nonprofit organization on the Westside in Culver City, also said it has been working with “470 partner organizations in LA County spanning schools, shelters and hospitals to fulfill requests coming in for essential items.” Over the weekend, the organization, which provides necessities to children living in poverty, said it had provided “over one million emergency supplies for the most vulnerable children and families who have lost everything in the Los Angeles fires including diapers, food, formula, water, clothing, blankets and hygiene products, and we are committed to continuing this work for the weeks and months to come.”
In Lincoln Heights, on the Eastside of Los Angeles, similar efforts were underway at a thrift store operated by the international Catholic volunteer organization St. Vincent de Paul. Volunteers have spent days organizing hauls of donated and buying items for distribution to families affected by the wildfires.
In warehouse and office spaces separate from the main thrift store, volunteers sort collections of items into baskets for recipients. Katti Fernandez, the organization’s director of Vincentian services, said people have been donating everything from curling irons to jewelry to children’s toys and board games.
“It’s unfortunate that it took this tragedy to happen, but the beauty that came out of it is seeing what an amazing community we are of people who want to just help and give to one another,” Fernandez said. “We’ve had people from San Bernardino, Orange County — one of my admins here just took a call from New York. And so there’s a ton of desire to be a part of the effort, and it’s just beautiful.”
Even amid the outpouring of goodwill, some organizers and volunteers say they have noticed damaged or unusable donations coming in, as well. Many online are urging fellow community members to donate only what they would feel comfortable using themselves.
As donation centers quickly fill up, Fernandez said, the most effective way to help may be through financial rather than material contributions, especially as many families will need money to rebuild their homes. But she noted that the relief effort will be a marathon, not a sprint.
“Down the road, they’re going to need furniture. They’re going to need beds, appliances. Children just had Christmas, and they opened up amazing toys that they were so looking forward to,” she said. “Those little comfort items will be needed to make them feel a sense of normalcy.”
Meanwhile, the Westchester Y urged people to continue the volunteering momentum.
“We anticipate fewer volunteers & donations throughout the week, due to work and other obligations,” it wrote on Instagram. “Please try to dedicate some time, energy, or resources to come help us out!”
