January 16, 2025
Dear Trojan Family,
This past week has us all heavy-hearted. In the face of such a disaster, Los Angeles feels much smaller, and more connected. We’re proud and moved to see how Trojans from around the world are reaching out to help those in need. We’ve heard stories of Trojans helping the wildfire response efforts through Navy Reserve deployment and others doing search and rescue work in the affected communities. Across our campuses, Trojans are looking at ways to use their expertise to rebuild our communities. Your courage, strength, and resilience will help us all get through this.
The L.A. wildfires have displaced more than 130,000 people. Many Trojan family members have asked how they can help, so today we want to share more information about our recently launched Trojan Family Relief Fund. Donations to this fund, which can be made at https://giving.usc.edu/LAfire, will go directly to current USC students and active faculty and staff who’ve been displaced by the fires and need support with transitional expenses, such as temporary housing, family care, and emergency supplies. Our goal with these funds is to assist people as quickly as we can, while also continuing to build the fund for additional needs that arise. We will continue to direct people to the many other types of assistance that are or will become available in the coming days and weeks.
If you are a current student, active faculty, or active staff member needing support, the application process will be launched next Tuesday, January 21. We will begin to review and process applications immediately, focusing on relief support for people who have been displaced and faced loss or damage to their homes. Please continue to check the community resources for emergency response support page for updates and more information.
Take care of yourselves, your loved ones, and one another. As always, we will Fight On together.
Sincerely,
Carol L. Folt
President
Robert C. Packard President’s Chair
Suzanne Nora Johnson
Chair, USC Board of Trustees