California Volunteers wildfire recovery grant provides opportunities for Pasadena City College students and the community

California Volunteers, Office of the Governor has awarded Pasadena City College more than a half a million dollars to create a new Wildfire Recovery College Corps chapter on its campus.

“This is great news not only for Pasadena City College, but for our entire Dena community,” said Dr. José A. Gómez, president of the college. “PCC has been there for our community from the start of the disaster, and we’ve remained committed to rebuilding. This grant will enable us to aid our community even more.”

The award from California Volunteers creates the state’s first College Corps chapters dedicated specifically to rebuilding communities ravaged by the Eaton and the Palisades fires in January of 2025.

“We are pleased College Corps fellows at Pasadena City College will be supporting Eaton Fire survivors. These College Corps fellows will provide an important service to their community while gaining skills and earning money to help pay for school,” said Josh Fryday, Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement Director and California Chief Service Officer.

As a fully funded member of College Corps, PCC will expand an effort started in the months following the Eaton fire.  In the fall of 2025, PCC launched its own version of College Corps, becoming the first affiliate program in the state. The purpose of the program is to provide an avenue for PCC students to serve communities recovering from the Eaton fire. As a College Corps affiliate, PCC’s program has followed the same guidelines and principles as the state program but has operated with funding from the Pasadena City College Foundation. PCC students in the program also learn leadership skills through a leadership course. They earn college credit for the course and receive a stipend for their work, which helps pay for college.

The new grant provides for an expanded program and full funding. The program will offer more PCC students an opportunity to serve community organizations that are assisting in the rebuilding and recovery of the region.  

“Through College Corps, our students are stepping into meaningful roles that contribute to recovery and resilience, gaining hands-on experience while making a tangible difference in people’s lives,” said Dr. Salvatrice Cummo, PCC’s vice president for Economic and Workforce Development. “We’re not only accelerating recovery, but also preparing a generation of students with the skills and purpose needed to lead in moments that matter most.”

Currently, PCC College Corps students are placed with 14 organizations, including groups such as Friends In Deed, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the Altadena Library, Flintridge Center, the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity.

Collectively, PCC fellows have already contributed more than 5,600 service hours to the community, said Jacqueline Sacoto, director of PCC’s Freeman Career Center, and the founding director of College Corps.

“It’s a natural fit,” Sacoto said. “After witnessing so much destruction, our students want to be engaged and to serve. They want to be a part of the solution, and our community needs them.”

PCC College Corps students have described their time serving the community in the aftermath of the fires as lifechanging.

PCC student Alyzee Sosa is a fellow with the organization Friends In Deed. Her work includes serving as a case manager for fire-impacted families, some of whom have lost their homes, and some who have ended up on the streets. Sosa sits with them, listening to their grief, and searching for ways to help restore stability and aid recovery. Through experiences with the families, she has come to understand the devastation of community.

She remembers a woman who had worked for many years cleaning houses. The single mother of two children lost her clients in the area because their homes burned during the Eaton fire. Now out of work, fearful of ICE raids, and not sure how she could buy groceries, the woman needed help just so she and her children could survive.

“So when we were able to secure some rental assistance for her, I remember her just breaking down into tears. Because for her, it wasn’t just a check. It wasn’t just a sum of money. It was a burden removed for her for a couple months,” Sosa said.  “It was a time for her to be able to breathe easily, and it was the ability for her to afford Christmas presents.”

Filled with gratitude, the woman reached into her purse and handed Sosa a small figurine of La Virgen de Guadalupe.  Today it is a reminder to Sosa that “my work had a tangible impact on someone’s life,” she said.

Sosa was one of several students who spoke about their College Corps experiences at a recent meeting of the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees. Dr. Steven Gibson, president of the board, said the students’ moving presentations illustrated the mutual benefits of community service.

“Our students are having a real impact in the community,” Gibson said. “These are the kinds of experiences that make our communities stronger and teach our students invaluable lessons about what it means to serve others.”

Beyond building skills and growing professionally, College Corps has been an opportunity to “engage in my humanity and be there when my community needs me,” Sosa said. “That’s the most important lesson I’ve learned from this fellowship.”