Montecito Organizations Aid L.A. Fire Evacuees

From Sunday, January 12, through Wednesday, January 15 – Crane Country Day School and All Saints-by-the-Sea Parish Montecito held a donation and pick up drive for the L.A. Fire evacuees staying in the area. Donations were received at All Saints-by-the-Sea Parish Hall and outside grassy areas, and a private area was provided where L.A. Fire evacuees could select needed items. 

I arrived on Sunday, January 12, to talk with the team and find out more. There I met Alexa Hughes, Upper School Math Teacher and Eighth Grade Dean at Crane Country Day School. She toured the donation areas with me and explained how it all came together. 

The drive was spearheaded by Crane Country Day School’s (CCS) new Development Director Emma Balina with CCS parents, many of whom are parishioners of All Saints-by-the-Sea. Leading the donation operations with them were psychologist Lena Harris Dicken, founder/owner/curator of Kismet Lindsay Eckardt, All Saints Rector Rev. Channing Smith, and All Saints School Director Jennifer Tucker. There were over 20 volunteers including local school students. Eckardt stating, “The humanitarian effort I have witnessed today is just amazing – the donations, the volunteers, and a $5,000 donation check to go out and buy supplies for these families!” 

I next talked with Rev. Channing Smith about the drive at All Saints and accommodating children at their preschool, he shared, “For us we are humbled to be able to serve in this capacity in this moment. The energy that has brought everyone together truly has been God led, and the ease in which it all happened, people just giving hours and hours because they care so much either from a personal experience or just wanting to do something is just incredible. It’s a sign of the health and kindness of the Montecito community. My vision is that All Saints is a living room for the community, and this is just another way we can express that. Jennifer Tucker is making sure we know how many preschool spaces we have available for incoming students, so we know immediately how to respond to incoming calls from evacuated parents for their children.”

We also discussed two species of loss in this fire catastrophe – which are all the people who lost their homes, and all the workers, teachers, healthcare providers and many others who worked in the fire-devastated areas and are now without a job. He acknowledged that this is a problem and showed me the U.S. Disaster Program’s Emotional Life Cycle of a Disaster. It points out quite plainly what Montecitans have experienced with disasters here; namely, that there is the heroic-honeymoon period when aid comes in very high and people are being helped, and then emotions drop into the lows of working through grief to get to a “new normal.” The answer is that efforts need to remain open and continued. 

The donation drive provided adult clothing, baby items, personal care, blankets, toys, and more for free. Currently the donations are serving approximately 70 to 109 families who sought refuge in Montecito. People who picked up donations at All Saints were given suitcases and other carry totes to pack the items that they needed, and on their way out were presented with fresh flowers as a sign of love. 

Any items not picked up were carefully itemized and packaged to be delivered to selected Los Angeles organizations via volunteers with trucks. As for where the donations will be headed in Los Angeles, Balina and Eckardt told me that at this time they are being advised to make drop-offs at Pasadena City College, areas in Altadena, and at the Los Angeles Foster Youth Center, and are keeping an eye on the changing nature of events in fire areas.