How one collective helped raised nearly $20 million for people impacted by L.A.'s wildfires.

Log on to Instagram and you’ll see posts from organizations and individuals who have been leading volunteering efforts, donating and sharing resources to people impacted by the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history.
The Palisades and Eaton Fires both started on Jan. 7, but more public attention was initially focused on the Pacific Palisades area, a more affluent area home to celebrities. As the death toll climbed from the Eaton Fire, more news outlets honed in on Altadena, a city with a significant Black history and high Black ownership. Black Americans have historically faced housing discrimination and redlining that have made it difficult to not only become homeowners, but keep their homes. The Eaton Fire and enduring issues caused by the destruction have only exacerbated the issues.
A community aid network formed to help Altadena and Pasadena residents, and focuses squarely on the cities’ Black residents. Community Aid Dena partnered with other organizations including GoFundMe, WalkGoodLA, AFROPUNK and social media app Spill to find ways to Black help residents stay rooted.
Since Jan. 9, campaigns listed on Community Aid Dena’s database have raised roughly $19.6 million and impacted nearly 800 Black families in Altadena and Pasadena. The effort started with work a lot of folks were doing: sharing the history and significance of Altadena, as well as individual/family GoFund Me sites. AFROPUNK contributor Cierra Black connected with social media and editorial manager Leslie Vargas. Together, they consolidated all of the verified GoFundMe campaigns they could find into a single spreadsheet database published on AFROPUNK.
If you would like to submit a campaign for a Black family affected by the Eaton Fire in Pasadena and Altadena, email [e-mail].
I talked to four Community Aid Dena volunteers: Cierra Black, Jasmine Graves, Mai-Lin Graves and Kyree Jackson about their work. They are just four of at least 17 volunteers who directly talk to Black wildfire survivors, gather their fundraising information and keep track of their fundraising efforts on a verified database of GoFundMe campaigns for residents’ needs and rebuilding efforts.
Listen to the entire conversation here. You can also read the conversation on afrolanews.org.