The devastation of Southern California’s 2025 Wildfires cannot be understated in its impact on the Los Angeles and Ventura County communities. Affected Angelenos are grappling with grief and uncertainty, as many are left to pick up the pieces of their homes and livelihoods. However, in the face of such shock and loss, we must continue to persevere by banding together in support and uplifting one another. Snap Foundation had the honor of conversing with a few local organizations that embody this mission and actively serve others in the spirit of what truly makes Los Angeles a city of angels.
FA-MLI, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit which provides unique, culturally-informed mentorship and school-based art programming to young people, highlighting principles of personal responsibility, civic engagement, anger management, job placement, and more. Since 1992, FA-MLI’s Founder and CEO, Mr. Torrence Brannon-Reese (MSW), has spearheaded community care efforts for thousands of young men and women in high-risk societal circumstances.
In response to the recent, unprecedented crisis of the Palisades Fires, FA-MLI is using its platform to push the needle with a call to action entitled, “Beyond Thoughts and Prayers: Saving Humanity, One Human Being at a Time.” The piece compassionately encourages us to “move beyond words of condolence, and fleeting gestures of prayer” and instead take the immense responsibility of recovery into our own hands, together, as a community. Ranging from churches, local government entities, and universities to businesses, celebrities and individuals alike—Beyond Thoughts and Prayers explores intentional ways for each facet of Greater Los Angeles to intervene with intentionality.
FA-MLI, itself, is doing the same, even with limited resources. In response to the fires, FA-MLI has provided cash donations, food, clothes, and other critical items to those in need, highlighting an increased severity of impact for Los Angeles’ homeless population- even sourcing housing for a displaced single mother of 4. FA-MLI continues to host a weekly, zoom-based discussion series called, “Question of Culture,” to provide a platform for voices and create a space for empathetic listening. Regardless of whether your support is “financial, physical, or spiritual,” using your voice “can change the course of someone’s life.” Be encouraged to do so!
As an Angeleno, cultural advocate, artist, and United States veteran, Mr. Torrence lives by the following philosophy:
“None of us are truly free, unless we wish for others what we wish for ourselves.”
Carry this motto forward, as to release apathy and hopelessness to instead embody the empowering spirit of care and proactivity.
The P.F. Bresee Foundation has “grown from a grassroots drop-in, after-school tutoring program aimed at keeping local youth off the streets, into a robust organization with a holistic approach towards helping Central Los Angeles residents achieve immediate socio-economic stability and long-term prosperity.” Through community building, resilience, and resource accessibility, the Breese Foundation is proud to have served over 70,000 youth and family members in its 40+ years of dedicated work. During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, the Breese Foundation sharpened an invaluable skill set in community crisis response work, raising $12 million in assistance funds to face and prevent homelessness, in partnership with the FSC (FamilySource Centers). This wealth of hands-on experience is now being called upon to aid in response to the 2025 Southern California Wildfires.
The P.F. Bresee Foundation's Executive Director, Seth Eklund, notes that, “based on what is currently being seen, we’re anticipating a high magnitude of community need”. The organization is in communication with local government and city-wide networks of organizers to deliberate appropriate next steps and source both private and public funding. The Foundation is actively raising unrestricted funds to provide care to those across affected areas in Greater Los Angeles and beyond. Additional in-kind donations are also welcomed, including air purifiers, medical supplies, masks, water, etc., and housing resources.
With many businesses and schools closing due to the wildfires (temporarily or long-term), the Breese Foundation decided to open its doors to more than 250 school-aged children. Their bi-weekly food distribution service also moved indoors, due to the ash-filled, polluted air.
In collaboration with the FSC (of the Community Investment for Families Department), P.F. Breese caseworkers are building a database of the affected population via outreach to identify those in need and collect verifying information to support people in having those needs met. Many who are suffering in the aftermath of these fires happen to be low-income immigrants who have lost significant wages or their businesses entirely, putting them and their families at great risk. Housekeepers, day laborers, nannies, gardeners, restaurant staff, and service workers are of utmost importance as The Breese Foundation continues to clarify avenues of support, fundraise, and organize for the betterment of all Angelenos.
To learn more about Bresee's impact in Los Angeles, please visit Bresee's 2023-34 Impact Report. To learn more specifically about Bresee's relief efforts in helping low-income families impacted by the fires, please contact Bresee's Executive Director, Seth Eklund, at seklund@bresee.org and consider making a donation at Bresee Foundation - Get Involved.
Pasadena is home to the Armory Center for the Arts, a nonprofit organization rooted in forward-thinking contemporary art expression and education. As a longstanding pillar of the Los Angeles County art community, Armory empowers artists as worthy educators and upholds a “commitment to the protection of equitable access to art that is tailored to the community's evolving needs.” The Eaton Fire of Pasadena has “left people's heads spinning” relays Armory’s VP of External Relations, Andrew Gould.
“Recovery is going to take years because the devastation is massive.”
As the city of Pasadena enters “Phase 2” of its hazardous ash and debris cleanup, Armory Arts are taking similar responsive action towards recovery for its community, both served and within the organization itself. Springing into inspired action, Armory is developing the following programs to serve those in need:
1. The Armory Fire Relief Fund
An active fundraiser that provides immediate, short-term assistance to crisis-affected individuals, including seven of Armory’s beloved staff members and teaching artists who have lost their homes and essential items in the Eaton Fire. Please help support them by donating to the Armory Fire Relief Fund.
2. The Creativity & Community Care Room
“People's heads are spinning, they need a cup of tea and someone to help them.”
Five to six k-12 schools have been lost or significantly impacted by the Eaton Fire, leaving Altadena educators, children, and families without adequate space to convene and learn. After receiving several requests from charter schools, principals, and teachers alike for accommodations, Armory Arts is happy to announce that The Creativity & Community Care Room, co-hosted by Gale’s Restaurant, is now open! Armory Center for the Arts “invites you and any members of the community to stop by for a hot cup of tea or coffee, fruit and snacks, art-making activities for all ages, and a place to find community or rest, if only for a few moments.” Free wifi is also available.
Please contact Milly at mcorrea@armoryarts.org if you have something you would like to donate to The Creativity & Community Care Room.
3. Studio Program
Armory Center for the Arts is fundraising to provide financial assistance to its studio program, supporting photo, letterpress, ceramics, and other fine arts mediums. While currently in development, they are planning to offer free classes for families who have lost their homes/ been displaced.
4. Grant Writing Support
Armory’s staff is helping bridge the gap between local artists and networks of support by providing 1-on-1 grant writing guidance, helping them to identify and apply for resources that provide aid towards the loss of shelter, studio,s and personal/ essential items.
Armory Center for the Arts recognizes the critical necessity of art as a tool for community healing and aims to continue their work in “shedding a light on the heart of this city, what was lost and what we will rebuild.”
Through emergency evacuations, destruction, and loss, the city is now in a deep state of recovery– piecing together the fabric of what makes Los Angeles a brilliant, multicultural hub for ever-evolving American greatness. In the words of Mr. Torrence Brannon-Reese, “These are the moments that define who we are [...]. Together, we can be the solution.”
