Los Angeles Program Students Help Community Members Affected by California Wildfires
Students spending the spring semester in the University’s Dick Clark Los Angeles Program arrived in California in early January. Their first order of business was to attend orientation activities beginning Jan. 6 and acclimate to the Los Angeles area. Soon, they were immersed in the community in a way they never could not have imagined.
On Jan. 7, wildfires erupted in the greater Los Angeles area. Two fires in particular—the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire—burned for more than three weeks, destroying thousands of homes and causing billions of dollars in damages.
The nearly 70 Syracuse University students in Los Angeles were safe throughout the situation. “We were quite far from both of the fires, so we were fortunate in terms of both where the center is and where the students were living,” says Anna Proulx, visual and performing arts program director for the Dick Clark Los Angeles Program.
Although it was an unsettling time, the students were amazed and moved by how local communities came together to support each other—and they wanted to be a part of that. Students and staff were soon working alongside community members in the wildfire recovery efforts.
Lending a Helping Hand
Donation centers began popping up around the community, collecting clothing, diapers and baby items, pet supplies, furniture and other things that families would need to reestablish a home. Proulx and Newhouse LA Program Director Robin Howard had already discussed ways students could help, especially since community engagement and volunteering is an important part of the LA experience for students.
“We’ve always, since the beginning, made community engagement a requirement of the program,” says Howard. “Students have to give back to the city, and they choose what they want to do. In the past, they’ve read to kids, cleaned up beaches and put boxes together for military families. It’s in the DNA of what we do here. It was not a far reach to mobilize and help these families.”
Proulx took a group of students to work at a donation center. The amount of donations was overwhelming, so the first step was to help organize the donations into categories and then develop a cohesive distribution system.
Howard then took a group to a follow-up event where families came to choose items they needed. Students acted as personal shoppers, helping to carry and organize the items. Beyond offering physical help, they provided emotional support, too—a reassuring smile for those impacted by the tragic fires. Students also volunteered at another donation event on Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.