When fires raced through the communities of Pasadena and Altadena, California, on Jan. 7, 2025, destroying or damaging thousands of homes and businesses, 34 child care facilities were destroyed and many more damaged. In Altadena, more than half of the child care centers suffered damage, leaving approximately 1,000 children without providers, according to the Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles and Options for Learning.
The community response to this disaster was swift. Even as the Eaton fire was still burning, the leadership of the Child Care Directors Alliance (CCDA) set up weekly meetings of the area child care directors to keep them up to date on recovery efforts and to connect them with much needed support. Pacific Oaks College, a Pasadena institution with 80 years of experience in training early childhood experts and teachers, was well positioned to help. At the direction of college president Breeda McGrath, Ph.D., Pacific Oaks, in conjunction with the CCDA and the City of Pasadena’s Taskforce on Early Child Development and Early Education, applied for and secured a grant from Pasadena Community Foundation for $1.3 million to support the child-care centers that were destroyed or damaged in the fire.
The grant included funding for a full-time project director, and Pacific Oaks College brought in Fiona Stewart to oversee the operation. When the requests from providers exceeded available funds, the international aid organization Save the Children’s humanitarian response team stepped in and pledged $500,000 and ultimately an additional $300,000.
In addition to funding the reopening affected child care centers, supporting organizations were looking for ways of lifting the spirits of the children who had experienced months of disruption. Mattel, one of Save the Children’s corporate sponsors, planned an event that would help replace some of what had been lost while sparking optimism for a brighter future as the community recovered.
On Nov. 4, 2025, The director of World of Little Angels child care center in Altadena led her children outside to find an enormous red box, five feet by five feet, with a bow on top. As the young ones gathered around, the sides of the box fell away, revealing shelves stocked with toys. Representatives from Save the Children International and the Mattel Corporation’s Play It Forward program, who provided the box and its contents, including Save the Children ambassador Cobie Smulders, were on hand to distribute the toys. It was a moment of joy for young people who had suffered 10 months of disruption and loss. “The Save the Children and Mattel staff had a great time helping to open up the packaging and getting the toys out for the kids and playing with them,” says Stewart, who helped coordinate the giveaway. “It was a really fun event.”
“Our clear goal was to ensure children had their basic needs met as quickly as possible after the wildfires, return to learning environments safely, and receive the psychosocial support necessary to help them heal and thrive,” explains Jaclyn Pazos who was an adviser for the organization’s education in emergencies efforts. “Because our model centers on supporting children through strong local partners, we were fortunate to connect with Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School, whose commitment to helping child care centers damaged or destroyed by the fires aligned perfectly with our own.”
Under the leadership of CCDA and the Advisory Committee, Pacific Oaks, the Pasadena Community Foundation, and Save the Children distributed nearly $2 million to 43 child care sites, providing funds ranging from $900 to a maximum of $45,000. “The World of Little Angels director said she wanted to open and get back to normal,” Stewart explains, “to provide some stability, somewhere safe to go, somewhere that would become familiar.”
In addition to securing grants and distributing relief funds, Pacific Oaks faculty, staff, and students volunteered at a distribution center at the college’s campus to provide needed supplies to affected residents. Dr. McGrath pointed out to the publication Inside Higher Ed that many of the child care providers in the area studied at Pacific Oaks College. “This is our responsibility as a true community leader. If we believe in teacher preparation, if we believe in supporting children, this is part of what you do.”
