The wildfires that roared through large swaths of the Los Angeles region devastated many lives and wreaked havoc on the region.
Yet, as Chris Lowney wrote in his history of the Jesuits, “Heroic Leadership”:
“Leaders (who value love over fear) face the world with a confident, healthy sense of themselves as endowed with talent, dignity, and the potential to lead. They find exactly these same attributes in others and passionately commit to honoring and unlocking the potential they find in themselves and in others. They create environments bound and energized by loyalty, affection, and mutual support.”
This triumph of love and kindness, such simple human traits, has been on prominent display among the Loyola Marymount University community during the past month. Across all three campuses, students, staff, and faculty joined local community members to stand with and for those most affected by the wildfires. From making lunches to offering temporary housing to helping fill out claims forms to collecting and distributing supplies, the LMU community tapped into their spiritual resources to find the energy and creativity necessary to put their shoulders to the wheel.
While it’s nearly impossible to know just how many gestures of kindness, big and small, the LMU community shared with its neighbors during the height of the wildfire relief efforts, some of the many endeavors made to comfort and assist victims included:
Pam Rector Center for Service and Action Initiatives
The Pam Rector Center for Service and Action, long the beating heart of community engagement and philanthropy at LMU, played a pivotal role in mobilizing students, staff, and faculty to donate their time, brawn, and resources to crucial support efforts across L.A. County.
- Student Affairs and CSA leadership have worked closely with the local YMCA in Westchester to help organize and distribute much-needed donations to fire victims. Students and staff, alongside senior vice president for Student Affairs Kawanna Leggett, Ed.D., volunteered daily at the Westchester YMCA. CSA also shared the use of its vehicles to help move and deliver donations to affected areas;
- CSA and the Office of Black Student Services took students on an MLK Day of Service to serve at the L.A. Works’ MLK Day Volunteer Festival at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, where the focus was on wildfire relief efforts;
- CSA worked to support pressing needs of LAFD Station 5 in Westchester with Zarin Tejani, LMU’s medical director.
Various University Initiatives
Across all three LMU campuses, divisions, departments, and individuals applied their unique areas of expertise, skill sets, and resources to support their L.A. neighbors in whatever capacity they could.
- The Westchester YMCA leaned on LMU Community Relations and the BCLA Modern Languages department to help provide translations for the influx of Spanish-speaking people.
- The team at StudyLA made about 100 sack lunches for L.A. Family Housing in North Hollywood;
- The Loyola Anti-Racism Center is helping families impacted by the Eaton fire in completing various forms, including those required by FEMA, insurance companies, and lenders, Loyola Law Professor Susan Smith Bakhshian, told the ABA Journal. Volunteers will be eligible for pro bono credit hours;
- LMU Radio organized an internal supply drive for animals impacted by the fires. Donations were collected through Jan. 27, 2025 and delivered to the Pasadena Humane Society, Best Friends Animal Society, and Animal Wellness Foundation in Marina del Rey;
- Career and Professional Development and Student Employment Services in Student Affairs partnered on their Dress to Impress clothing donation drive and collected apparel that is available for those who might be in need;
- Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives supported Runway Playa Vista’s supply drive by staffing the drop-off and distribution center, and employing the LMU van to transport supplies from Runway to the YMCA.
Student-Led Support Initiatives
Many LMU students exemplified the spirit of cura personalis, harnessing their own networks to amplify relief efforts through their own personal actions. Such acts of kindness included:
- Exodus Broussard, an animation major and president of Brothers of Consciousness (BOC), an organization that works to promote Jesuit values and an increase in Black male leadership on campus, mobilized BOC members to contribute to the ongoing volunteer needs at the Westchester YMCA>
- Sadie Scheiter, an entrepreneurship major, led a donation drive to help the numerous animals that were affected by the natural disaster. She collected donations in the San Francisco Bay Area over winter break, ultimately managing to fill two U-Haul trucks which she drove down to L.A. after the holidays. She donated the various animal products to the Animal Wellness Center in Marina del Rey.
- Karenina Osuna, a theatre arts major, hosted a comedy show titled “Comedic Relief” on Saturday, Jan. 25 that highlighted several LMU students and alumni, including a set by special guest Carmen Christopher, a comedian notable for his appearances on “The Bear”, to raise money for those affected by the wildfires.
LMU’s efforts weren’t limited to faculty, staff and students: alumni heroics were on display, too. L.A. County Fire Capt. Malcolm Dicks ’94, who is leading search and rescue efforts following the Palisades fire, led the rescue of Patty Phillips who was trapped by a boulder while escaping last week’s wildfire. CBS News covered the story.
Also, amid the ashen ruins that was Corpus Christi Church, Capt. Bryan Nassour ’01 of the LAFD discovered the 300-pound tabernacle unscathed amid the wreckage. Nassour and his crew hauled the sacred receptacle to the fire station across the street.
Unfortunately, along with these shining examples of human kindness on display, the long road to recovery remains.
For LMU faculty and staff who were impacted, the university established an LMU Faculty and Staff Emergency Response Fund. This fund will provide immediate financial relief through $1,000 grants to those experiencing loss and displacement, ensuring they receive the support they need to recover. Other emergency funds established can be found here.
Additionally, building on the continued efforts to assist the 400 students affected by the wildfires, Student Affairs will offer a series of specialized support groups. Affected students should have already received further details from Community of Care and Student Psychological Services (SPS); if you would like more information, please contact [email protected].
Through unimaginable tragedy, the core tenets of the LMU mission have shone through the darkness, with the service of faith and promotion of justice on display in kindnesses big and small, near and far. Without needing to be called, students, staff, and faculty took it upon themselves to rise to the occasion, and the light in Los Angeles shines just a bit brighter because of it.