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As blazing wildfires continue to scorch through Los Angeles, California, thousands of people have been temporarily displaced or rendered homeless by the ongoing disaster.
As nonprofits throw open their doors, restaurants offer free meals, and crowdfunded campaigns roll in thousands of donations, there are an overwhelming number of resources cropping up — both from people wanting to help and those seeking aid.
In the chaos, one teen wanted to make it easy for everyone to find information in one, tidy place: a website called save-la.org.
“I wanted to make it so if you wanted to help or if you needed help, it could all be in one website, a one-stop shop,” Ruben Varghese — a 16-year-old who lives in South Bay, Los Angeles — told NBC Bay Area.
“I am deeply passionate about helping people, especially during these challenging times,” Varghese explained on the website’s homepage.
“This website is my effort to make a positive impact and provide resources to those who need them most.”
The Save LA website is sectioned off into six distinct sections: cash donations, supply donations and drop-off locations, volunteer opportunities, safe shelter options, financial assistance, and food banks.
The volunteer resource guide is the most comprehensive list on the website.
Links include food and supply centers looking for volunteers, animal shelters looking for temporary foster parents, and opportunities to host wildfire victims who are temporarily homeless.
“With so many Angelenos under evacuation orders and first responders coming in from all over the country, this is a way to open your home if you are able,” Varghese wrote online.
“You can [also] host through Airbnb to offer free stays to people in times of crisis.”
Overall, Varghese wanted to make it easy for victims to find help — and for helpers to lend a hand.
“I just want the people who got victimized by these fires to have some sort of home and shelter and some way of living in this hard time,” Varghese explained to NBC.
Image via Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation
