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Avery Colvert was an eighth-grader when the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, California, a year ago this month, reddening the sky and destroying nearly 10,000 structures. It was the second natural disaster she鈥檇 survived; she was just 14 years old. Her family had lost their home in Nashville, Tennessee, to a flash flood in 2021, before they moved west. 

This time, the catastrophe spared her house, but consumed her school. Familiar with the psychological toll such devastation can take, Avery posted an , which burned for over three weeks. She asked for items to help her 鈥渇riends feel confident and like themselves again!鈥� 鈥� 鈥渃lothes, personal items, beauty and hair care 鈥� stuff WE need.鈥� 

The plea, posted just three days after the fire broke out on January 7, 2025, quickly went viral. It has since garnered over 28,000 likes; earned support from celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Charli XCX and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; and led to the creation of the nonprofit, an organization that, Avery said, gives girls permission to ask for what they need without apology. 

鈥淚 always hear teenage girls say, 鈥極h, I’m sorry,鈥� like they feel they need to apologize for asking for too much,鈥� Avery, 15, now a ninth grader, said. 鈥淎t the beginning [of recovery], there was a lot of stigma around asking for help. Girls, after they lost their homes, they felt like it was embarrassing.鈥�

But they don鈥檛 need to apologize or feel embarrassed 鈥� for asking for help or stating their preferences, Avery said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 OK to say, 鈥業 like this sweater instead of that one.鈥� Girls are allowed to have opinions.鈥�

Avery founded Altadena Girls with her mother, Lauren Sandidge. Sandidge said that no one seemed to be focusing on the teen girl experience in the wake of the wildfire, which occurred in tandem with the massive Palisades Fire 30 miles away in Los Angeles. Through a pop-up boutique, Altadena Girls has supplied clothing, shoes, beauty products and hair care to more than 5,000 girls and their families. The organization has distributed more than a million items in total. Last year, it hosted a prom for over 300 girls, and it also provided back-to-school supplies and social-emotional support for 500 more. 

In October, Altadena Girls celebrated a major milestone: It opened an 11,000-square-foot community center offering free programming in nearby Old Town Pasadena. 

What began as a social media request for donations turned into a movement that revealed how inclusive disaster recovery can be when girls are centered rather than marginalized.

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Avery didn鈥檛 write her viral post with an endgame in mind. 

鈥淚 don鈥檛 even know what I was thinking,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was going through so many emotions at the time that my body just kind of went into fight-or-flight mode. It was like, 鈥業鈥檓 just going to do this, and this needs to be done right now.鈥欌��

Twenty-four hours after her post appeared on Instagram, donations began pouring in, as well as offers for help from stylists, makeup artists and fashion designers. Many of these professionals didn鈥檛 just give away products. They also volunteered their time and labor to the fire-impacted girls. 

Sandidge recalled kneeling over, sorting through boxes of donations. 鈥淓very time I looked up, there was someone with more donations,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd then they would stay. They could tell I was overwhelmed, and they would just stay.鈥�

Woven through Altadena Girls is this sense of community. The organization is more than just about distributing goods to teen girls in need. It鈥檚 about creating a space where they feel supported. Sandidge said her own family 鈥� she also has a son 鈥� felt stabilized by this as the wildfire left them uncertain.

鈥淚t got us through those moments where we didn鈥檛 know what was going to happen,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he fires were still burning. Everyone felt that way.鈥�

Through its permanent brick-and-mortar space, which opened on October 11, 2025 鈥� International Day of the Girl 鈥� the hope is that Altadena Girls can continue bringing the community together. 

鈥淚t was really cool, really exciting,鈥� Avery said. 鈥淚 still can鈥檛 believe we did it.鈥�

The center includes music and podcast studios sponsored by Fender; quiet rooms for studying, journaling or one-on-one conversations; a free boutique offering hygiene products, clothing and school supplies; and a gathering area for community events.

The most popular space is the Sliving Lounge, a glittery pink room of nearly 1,000 square feet filled with collaging stations, Polaroid cameras, karaoke, movies, books and vision boards. The name of the space, sponsored by Paris Hilton and her nonprofit, 11:11 Media, is a portmanteau of the words 鈥渟lay鈥� and 鈥渓iving.鈥�  

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely our most popular thing,鈥� Avery said. 鈥淓veryone ends up there.鈥�

Avery wanted it 鈥渢o feel like a girly explosion,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd they delivered.鈥�

Journey Christine, a 12-year-old actress who lives a block away from the Altadena Girls community center, said she visits most weekends. She called the center 鈥渁 blessing鈥� to Altadena and Pasadena, parts of which the fire also ravaged. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like my new home away from home,鈥� she said. 

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Altadena Girls鈥� dance workshops 鈥� run in partnership with Dance and Dialogue, a non-profit organization that provides intergenerational, multicultural programming 鈥� are especially meaningful to Avery. A dancer herself, she has watched girls return to dance night after night.

鈥淚鈥檝e seen them grow. They got really good,鈥� she said. 鈥淒ancing is so healing for me, and I鈥檓 glad other people get to discover that.鈥�

Youth are not required to participate in any activity to spend time at the community center. 鈥淵ou can come in and learn guitar,鈥� Sandidge said, but the priority is that their basic needs are met 鈥�  they鈥檙e fed, they鈥檙e safe, they鈥檙e relaxed. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when people can make good decisions.鈥�

After the fire, Journey has grappled with having classmates, steady presences in her life, move to different neighborhoods and communities. At Altadena Girls, she has been able to catch up with peers who relocated. 

鈥淭here are still people who haven鈥檛 moved back yet,鈥� Sandidge said. 鈥淭here are emotional needs that don鈥檛 go away just because the headlines do.鈥�

Avery believes the fire didn鈥檛 just create new needs. It exposed existing ones, such as a lack of 鈥渁 third space鈥� for teen girls to meet during the digital age, with phones and social media replacing physical gathering spaces. 鈥淔or some teenagers, the internet is their third space,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I think it鈥檚 important that we have a physical space that鈥檚 accessible to everyone.鈥�

That Avery鈥檚 advocacy led to the center鈥檚 creation has felt empowering for Journey. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really inspiring,鈥� the seventh grader said. 鈥淚t shows other kids that just because you鈥檙e young doesn鈥檛 mean you can鈥檛 make a difference.鈥�

Avery鈥檚 belief that dignity is a core component of recovery has led to national recognition. She became the youngest winner of the , and Senate District 25 named Altadena Girls . At the 10th Hollywood Beauty Awards, which recognizes the artistry that influences beauty in film, television and on red carpets, she received . 

Avery鈥檚 request for beauty and hair care resonated on a profound level.

鈥淪he wanted to give something that wasn鈥檛 just socks and T-shirts,鈥� said Pamela Price, the awards鈥� senior executive producer. 鈥淪he wanted to give girls something that brought a little happiness during an uncertain time. People might think it鈥檚 superficial, but it鈥檚 not. Hair, makeup, skincare 鈥� those things affect how you feel. Avery was thinking about mental health.鈥�

Journey said simple cosmetic items can make a world of difference for young girls. 鈥淧eople might think losing your favorite lipgloss, eye liner, pair of jeans or hoodie is petty, but it鈥檚 not because those things help boost confidence,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 how we represent ourselves. It鈥檚 our sense of style. Avery and Altadena Girls get it.鈥�

Avery still remembers the discomfort she felt when she received gift cards in front of her classmates after the Tennessee flood that destroyed her home. 鈥淚 felt embarrassed. Guilty.鈥� That memory inspired her to prioritize the dignity of teen and tween girls in the wake of the Eaton Fire. 

A year later, her nonprofit isn鈥檛 attracting the same level of national attention it did immediately after the disaster. Sandidge said that she understands the waning focus, having lived through a similar dynamic after the Nashville flood. 鈥淚t鈥檚 naturally what happens,鈥� she said. 鈥淓veryone comes around. There are headlines. People want to help. And then the intensity dies down.鈥�

But the long-term needs of disaster survivors related to mental health, stability and belonging don鈥檛 simply vanish, she said, a notion that research bears out. A in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that direct exposure to wildfires significantly raised the risk of PTSD and depression six months afterward.

As Altadena Girls enters its second year, maintaining its momentum and making it more accessible are top of mind. The center is currently open three evenings a week, with plans to expand to full-time hours. 鈥淲e want to keep it free,鈥� Sandidge said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not free to run.鈥�

The organization is also forming a teen advisory board, a critical step, according to Avery. 鈥淚t has to be for girls, by girls,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need their feedback.鈥�

In time, Sandidge hopes the space allows girls to plan their futures without the shadow of the wildfire and the trauma that accompanied it. 鈥淚 want them to make decisions based on who they are,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ot what they lost.鈥�

was originally reported by Nadra Nittle of . .

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