In the wake of the Palisades Fire that broke out in Los Angeles on January 7, 2025, destroying thousands of homes and countless lives, five friends at New Roads School (CA) started brainstorming what they could do to help. The inspiration came from a deeply personal place—two of their close friends whose families had lost everything in the fire’s wake.
At first, the students, all of them seniors, were thinking, ‘Let’s bring some of our clothes to help our friends get through the week.” Then they realized how many other families are in the same situation, and thought, “Why stop there?”
The students wanted to help as many families as they could, so they turned their simple idea into a communitywide relief effort to collect essential items. In the span of a few weeks, they leveraged their community service experience to establish what has become the New Roads School Fire Relief Boutique to provide immediate and meaningful relief to families in crisis.
Bringing the Community Together
After developing a list of essential items that displaced families might need in the immediate term—such as clothing, shoes, blankets, toiletries, phone chargers, and pet supplies—the students reached out to people in their networks for support. They created and implemented an outreach plan that included a social media campaign using their personal platforms, announcements at town hall meetings for fellow students, and collaboration with the school to promote the collection drive to the families of New Roads and other nearby schools.
Within hours, their posts were shared widely, and donations began to pour in by the carload. Everybody wanted to help, everyone knew someone who was affected. And people weren’t just bringing old clothes; they brought new items—things like high-quality blankets and gift cards. For two days, their homes served as donation hubs, with students collecting three to five bags of clothing, phone chargers, and toys for the family members of their displaced friends and delivering the bags to their temporary homes.
When they recognized the extent of their efforts—realizing how much they had collected, the tremendous need, and the enthusiastic response—they decided to reach out to the leaders at New Roads School. They emailed Kenya McGee, the assistant dean of student life, to share what they had been doing and to request a large venue that could serve as a community collection site, as well as a shopping destination for those displaced by the fires. In response, the school leaders offered space to collect and organize the donated items, along with a large area in an administrative office building to house what became known as the Relief Boutique. The students worked closely with the school administration to determine the hours when the boutique would be open for shoppers.
Supporting Those Who Have Lost So Much
On January 11, the New Roads School Fire Relief Boutique opened its doors. The volume of donations increased significantly, and a dedicated group of students, parents, teachers, and alumni volunteered to sort and organize the large quantities of donated items. As donations continued to arrive, volunteers worked diligently to sort and arrange everything, welcoming the first shoppers in the afternoon. The five students who initiated the project trained and directed all the volunteers.
The boutique is more than just a typical donation and distribution center; it is a compassionate space designed to provide comfort to those who have experienced significant loss. Volunteer “personal shoppers” welcome visitors and assist them in selecting from a wide range of free items, including clothing, shoes, bedding, phone chargers, toys, toiletries, pet supplies, and more. The personal shoppers ask the visitors who they are shopping for to get a sense of their style, age, and the specific types of items they need, and then guide them to suitable selections.
The students aimed to ensure that shoppers wouldn't have to sift through heaps of goods or feel like they were receiving charity. Instead, they wanted shoppers to have a supportive experience, with compassionate helpers available to suggest items and assist them in finding what they needed.
“We really wanted to address the emotional hardship people were experiencing,” they say. “It’s such a vulnerable time for people. We wanted this to feel special, like shopping at a boutique where someone is there to support you.”
Since its opening, the boutique has served countless families, including members of the New Roads community, teachers from other schools, neighbors, and their extended networks. After a week of serving their immediate community, the boutique opened to everyone in the Los Angeles area on the weekend of January 18-19. Volunteers of all ages—growing to a total of 75—continued to sort and organize items, ensuring that the boutique met the needs of those displaced by the fires.
Representing the Values of Their School
At the end of January, the items that remained in the Boutique were donated to a charity dedicated to providing ongoing support to those affected by the fires. For the student organizers, this effort became much more than a collection drive—it is a testament to the power of empathy, resilience, and leadership.
The Relief Boutique embodies the values at the heart of New Roads School, says Dan Vorenberg, head of school. “I could not be more impressed by how these students led and still lead every constituency here and, in turn, how every constituency responded. Having been here for only six months, I can only applaud those who built this school this way, and I remain inspired by the families, faculty, staff, and students who continue to carry compassion forward so selflessly.”
The students hope their story inspires others to take action, regardless of their age or resources. This serves as a reminder that in the face of disaster, empathy and action can create real change. They say, “If a group of 17-year-olds can make such a difference in people’s lives, then anyone can.”