Fire Resource Hub
for Students and Counselors Impacted by the Fires in LA
Hi Everyone,
We’re veering away from my (a)typical musings tonight because I have a big favor to ask all of you!
Like many Southern Californians, I am absolutely floored by the number of people I know personally who have lost their homes in the various fires across LA. Having grown up in San Diego, I’m no stranger to swift evacuations and the destruction caused by these fires, and watching from afar has left me feeling beyond helpless.
This won’t shock anyone who knows me, but when I feel helpless, I tend to spring into action. My expertise is in college advising, so I (along with a handful of trusted colleagues) created a Fire Resource Hub for prospective and current college students/families and counselors/CBOs who have been directly impacted by the fires.
Fire Resource Hub
Seeking Support?
If you are a student impacted by the LA fires and are in need of some college advising support, please complete this form.
If you are a school, CBO, or independent counselor impacted by the LA fires and are in need of support for your work and/or your students, please complete this form.
Offering Support?
If you are a professional who would like to contribute resources to this hub, please submit this form.
If you are an IEC or counselor who has bandwidth to offer support to students and counselors in need, please complete this form.
Resources:
Email Templates:
Requesting application extensions
Notifying colleges you’re attending a new high school
Financial Aid appeal
Additional Resources will be added periodically
McKinney Vento Act: Students who are currently displaced from their homes may qualify as homeless under the McKinney Vento Act, which might afford them more need-based financial aid opportunities for which they may otherwise not qualify.
Here’s a link to a spreadsheet of hundreds of companies offering free resources.
Here’s a link to a spreadsheet of fundraising campaigns for those who want to contribute financially (I’ll update as links are submitted)
Notes for prospective and current college students/families:
Many of our email templates will recommend that you email your regional admissions officer (AO). Some schools have up-to-date websites that list each AO and their region, but most don’t. If a quick scan of the website and Google search (“San Diego admissions officer for University of Colorado Boulder” for example) doesn’t yield a direct address, don’t waste your time and energy searching. It’s more than fine to email the general admissions address instead.
Schools are likely going to be inundated and you may not receive a timely reply. Don’t hesitate to follow up after a few days by email or phone.
In most cases, we suggest that students engage readily in this outreach. In this case, we also encourage parental support. So students, feel free to cc your parents on these emails, and parents, feel free to send the financial aid emails yourself and identify yourself as the parent of the impacted student.
If you are a current college student whose family has been impacted by the fires, please review the Financial Aid Appeal email template at your convenience.
Call to Action
Please consider sharing this newsletter with anyone you know in the LA area who could benefit from these resources, or who knows someone who could benefit from that.
Actually, scratch that. Please forward this to everyone you know and encourage them to do the same. The more hands we can get this into, the more students we can help. Within five minutes of posting the forms publicly, I already have dozens of counselors at the ready to provide college advising services to students and counselors who need support.