Devastation suffered by the victims of wildfires that destroyed entire neighborhoods in Southern California this winter has moved Trinity College students to action.
Two student-run organizations are seeking the help of the Trinity community as they work together to collect much-needed items to send to shelters in the Los Angeles area. Collection bins will be placed around campus from February 24 to March 24.
Katherine Meslow ’25, of New Albany, Ohio, developed the idea for the L.A. Fire Victims Supply Drive during winter break, when her vacation flight to L.A. was cancelled because of the ongoing fires in the area.
“The fires are devastating,” said Meslow, a public policy and law major who is minoring in urban studies. “I know two individuals who were impacted directly, as well as one of my Trinity roommates who lives near an evacuation zone. I wondered what I could do to help, so I talked to people in L.A. and did some research, and I learned that donating to shelters is one way to provide assistance.”
Meslow is head coordinator of the Trinity chapter of IGNITE, a student organization of Trinity’s Women and Gender Resource Action Center (WGRAC) whose mission is to empower students and foster leadership development, with a focus on those who identify as women. She brought the idea for a supply drive to IGNITE, which adopted the cause and sought to collaborate with another group on campus in order to raise the drive’s visibility and increase participation.
Like Meslow, her friend Hope Bettencourt ’25—president of Annual Community Event Staff (A.C.E.S.), a student organization of Trinity’s Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement—also considered how to aid the fire victims. “It’s one of the things you see on the news and think, ‘I’m so far away, but is there any way I can help?’” said Bettencourt, an American studies major from Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. “Katherine reached out to me and A.C.E.S. with her idea for a resource drive and I was ready to help. I have experience conducting supply drives.”
Bettencourt has been doing civic engagement work since she was in high school. “I knew I wanted to be involved with community service at college,” she said. “When I was a first-year at Trinity, I went through the Big Sister/Little Sister program, and my Big was one of the co-presidents of A.C.E.S. Finding A.C.E.S. has been a dream come true, and I’ve loved being a part of it during my four years here.”
Trinity President Joanne Berger-Sweeney, a proud Angeleno, said that she is moved by the student-led effort and is not surprised that Trinity students are working to help others, even if from across the country. “Our college community, while small, is comprised of members from across the country and the world. Fostering community and engagement is an important part of Trinity’s mission, and I am proud that our students are again demonstrating their dedication to improving the lives of others and serving the public good,” she said. “Los Angeles is a special place for me, and I am touched by this show of support.”
The supply drive will be listed as part of WGRAC’s Women’s Herstory Month programming and will have a focus on addressing the needs of women and children. Items that IGNITE and A.C.E.S. are seeking include blankets, pillows, clothes, stuffed animals, small toys, and menstrual products, which will all be donated to shelters in the L.A. area.
Meslow said, “You may not think stuffed animals are the most important at shelters right now, but for kids they can be something comforting and important to them.”
Look for the collection bins in high-traffic locations across campus soon.
“The drive starts right after Trinity Days and goes through spring break,” Meslow said. “We hope students use some of the time they have off to gather supplies. Every donation counts.”
