LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — For the month of March, the Los Alamtios High School Kindness Club has been helping those in need by hosting a book drive to help those affected by the 2025 California wildfires.
Earlier this year, multiple fires in the Los Angeles area broke out and caused major damage in the Palisades and Pasadena, becoming some of the most destructive wildfires in California history. With over 16,000 homes being destroyed or damaged, many Southern Californians knew someone who was impacted in one way or another.
In response, LAHS Kindness Club President Khloe Tran decided to help out by hosting a donation drive, similar to the one from last year by previous club president Zach Collins. After their earlier success raising almost 3,000 books, the club decided to expand their scope by reaching out to both middle schools in the Los Alamitos Unified School District and the Rossmoor Homeowners Foundation to collect additional donations.
While the previous book drive’s proceeds were focused towards the LA prison system, the events of the recent fires and other donation drives inspired Tran to host this year’s book drive in order to spread literacy and raise awareness about the fires within the community.
“I saw that (there were) a lot of people (who are) willing to help,” Tran said. “I’ve learned through my experience in Kindness (Club) that if you give people that avenue and that opportunity, then they’ll be willing to donate.”
This year, book donations have gone through two organizations, Access Books and the LA Diesel Bookstore. Any books meant for children from elementary schools are delivered to Access Books, while the rest are given to the latter.
“It’s interesting to see what books people have donated so far,” an LAHS substitute teacher said.
While the number of books donated in total hasn’t been counted yet, Tran says that she’s done at least two loads of her car, not counting the ones that were still on the school campus.
“I would say it’s a success,” Tran said. “I think any amount of donations is a success in my book.”
As club president, Tran set a goal to host two school-wide drives, one last semester and one during the spring semester. With both being so prevalent around campus, she has found it an incredibly gratifying experience to see the number of high school students donating.
Even though Tran is a senior this year, she still plans on growing Kindness Club to foster a sense of community and inspire people to continue to give back. She hopes that in the future, the club will continue to host more drives and volunteering events to help bring people to action, just like this semester’s successful book drive.
