When Tragedy Strikes, Teens Step Up: Teen Service Corps Rallies to Help LA Fire Victims

February 25, 2025

By TSC Staff, February 2025

In the aftermath of the devastating January 2025 wildfires that swept through Los Angeles County, communities were left reeling. The Eaton and Palisades Fires consumed more than 62 square miles—an area larger than San Francisco—leaving hundreds of families displaced and facing the overwhelming task of rebuilding their lives from scratch.

But amid the destruction, a powerful story of compassion emerged from 400 miles north, where a group of teenagers refused to stand by while others suffered.

A Call to Action

It all started with a phone call. Gigi Walravens, the 16-year-old Co-president of the Teen Service Corps based in Marin County, learned through her sister about a friend who had lost everything in the Palisades Fire.

“When I heard about someone my age who suddenly had nothing—no clothes, no personal items, not even basic toiletries—it hit me hard,” Walravens recalls, looking around her own bedroom filled with LuluLemon leggings, dresses, and outfits. “I realized I had so much, maybe too much, while others had literally nothing. That’s when I knew we had to do something.”

As leader of the Teen Service Corps, a community service organization dedicated to helping those in need, Walravens typically focused on local initiatives. But the scale of the LA disaster called for thinking bigger.

“We usually help in our immediate community,” she explains, “but sometimes you have to look beyond your boundaries when the need is this great.”

From Idea to Impact

Walravens wasted no time. She mobilized the Teen Service Corps leadership team, including Co-president Jamie Glennon and Vice-president Renata Lionetti, and the congregation of St. Hilary Catholic Church in Tiburon, California. Their mission: collect new or gently-used clothing, shoes, hair products, toiletries, hygiene items, and other essentials for fire victims.

The response was immediate and overwhelming.

“Within just 24 hours of putting out the call, our collection bins were overflowing,” Walravens says with amazement still evident in her voice. “People want to help—they just need to know how.”

What started as a simple clothing drive quickly transformed into something much larger. Donations poured in faster than the teens could sort them. Community members who couldn’t donate items contributed money instead, which the group directed to Catholic Charities’ disaster relief fund.

Delivery Day

The most challenging part came next: getting the massive collection of donations to those who needed them. The teens organized, sorted, and carefully packed a truckload of items. Then, working with adult volunteers, they arranged transportation to St. Philip the Apostle Church in Pasadena—one of the churches that had become a central hub for fire relief efforts.

St. Philip’s was already serving as a temporary home for two displaced congregations: St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church and St. Rita Catholic Parish, both located in evacuation zones. The church had become a sanctuary for many who had lost everything, including 126 students and 16 employees from St. Elizabeth’s school.

When the Teen Service Corps’ truck arrived, local volunteers were moved by the teens’ initiative.

“To see young people from hundreds of miles away care this much about strangers—it gives you hope,” says Mark Mariscal, a fire victim who lost his home and was staying at the Pasadena Convention Center. “This whole process isn’t about rebuilding our community because Altadena’s community has actually just grown from this tragedy. These kids helping from afar are now part of our extended family.”

The Ripple Effect

What the Teen Service Corps didn’t anticipate was how their action would inspire others. After sharing their initiative on social media, several other youth groups from Northern California launched similar drives. What began as one truckload soon multiplied.

For Walravens and her team, the experience transformed their understanding of community service.

“We started thinking we were just sending stuff, but it became so much more than that,” Walravens reflects. “We’ve built connections with people we’ve never met. We’ve learned that community isn’t just about geography—it’s about showing up for others when they need it most.”

As Los Angeles continues the long process of recovery—with the Eaton Fire at only 27% containment as of mid-January—the Teen Service Corps is already planning their next initiative to support long-term rebuilding efforts.

“This isn’t a one-time thing for us,” Walravens insists. “When you see the impact something as simple as clean clothes and personal care items can have on someone who’s lost everything, you realize how important it is to keep showing up.”

In a time when news headlines often highlight division, these teenagers from Marin County remind us of the power of compassion that crosses all boundaries—geographic, generational, and otherwise.

As Mariscal so eloquently put it: “We have grown as a community because of this tragedy. You can’t ask for more than that.”

For those interested in supporting ongoing fire relief efforts, donations can be made to Catholic Charities or by contacting St. Philip the Apostle Church in Pasadena for specific needs.