Members of Prefect Council, Student Leaders for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (SLIDE) and Community Council will be hosting an on-campus gathering at the Upper School on Jan. 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to support students affected by the recent LA wildfires. Gift cards and water bottles can be donated during the lunch event. External community outreach to aid those outside the school impacted by the fires has not been yet organized, but those with ideas can contact Community Council, the email read.
Harvard-Westlake Parents (HWP) will also be hosting a clothing drive Jan. 11-12 to collect new or gently used clothing, shoes, socks, underwear, blankets and towels, according to an email sent to students. The drive-thru donation process will be set-up in front of Hamilton Gym. Additionally, the group said they were in the process of compiling available housing options so housing can be provided to the roughly 50 families with lost homes.
“The single greatest need that families face is short- and long-term housing,” the parent organization said in an email. “To aid families in finding appropriate options, Harvard-Westlake Parents and the school are building a database of available short- and long-term rental properties. Our deepest sympathies go out to them as they work to recover.”
Head Prefect Ellie Borris ’25 said it is vital for the school to support each other to mitigate the effects of the losses faced.
“It’s important for the community to come together tomorrow so that we can unite our efforts to help those who need it most,” Borris said. “We have a lot of different people, both students and adults, who want to contribute, and tomorrow is an opportunity for those people to unite and do just that. I am personally looking forward to it, because it gets difficult watching people you love suffer and feeling helpless when it comes to making things better for them. What we are doing tomorrow will be a good first step in a series of actions to bring hope and help to those in our community who have lost so much.”
The school is still set to reopen on Jan. 13, according to the administration, but is subject to change based on circumstances. Anyone who has any questions about how to support HW families in need can email [email protected].