From left: Sharon Stone, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Halle Berry. Image from Reuters, Instagram.
LOS ANGELES — When wildfires destroyed parts of Los Angeles this week, real estate agent Jenna Cooper started asking friends for clothing and other items to help people in need.
Her request spread quickly through a network of powerful women. Actors including Sharon Stone and Halle Berry responded, providing sweaters, shoes, clothing, handbags, belts, pajamas and more pulled from their own collections.
Article continues after this advertisement“I’m packing up my entire closet,” Berry wrote on Instagram. “If you live in the Southern California area, I urge you to do the same. This is something we can do right now.”
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Article continues after this advertisementStone circulated information about the donations on social media, which helped attract publicity. She and her sister, Kelly Stone, contributed clothing, bedding and more, and Kelly volunteered to assist shoppers.
Article continues after this advertisement“The first thing they need when they come in the store is a hug,” Kelly Stone said. She then said to shoppers, “Show me pictures of yourself, how do you dress?” so she could direct them to sweaters or trench coats that reflected their style.
Article continues after this advertisementAt the store on Friday, a therapy dog named Jackie Robinson greeted people at the door. Inside, they looked through racks of dresses and coats, stacks of denim, shelves of shoes and baskets of handbags.
Offerings ranged from packages of fresh underwear from Target to new or lightly used Zara dresses and some Gucci and Ferragamo shoes in the mix.
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Article continues after this advertisementCooper said she received donations and volunteer support from power players across Los Angeles, including actors, executives, lawyers, restaurant owners and moms. Her network of real estate agents in New York was sending gift cards, she said.
One Hollywood stylist came with two large bags of items from her closet and was enlisted to help organize the store for shoppers over the weekend.
“I know people who have lost everything, and even people I don’t know I’m devastated for,” said Lisa Cera, who has worked for celebrities including the Kardashians and Lenny Kravitz. “I decided I’m just going to bring whatever I can.”
Ellen Bennett was choosing items for her 72-year-old mother, who lost her home in the Eaton fire on the east side of Los Angeles. Bennett said she selected “the basics,” including socks, sweaters, pants, a jacket and a pair of running shoes.
“She left her house with her dog and a bag and just a few things. She thought she would come back,” Bennett said of her mother, adding, “It’s so special and beautiful that in this time of tragedy, people are rising up and helping each other.”
Store owner Cooper said she helped a man find a pair of sneakers so he could run on the beach, something he had not done since the fires erupted. She said she was overwhelmed by the response to her idea to help.
“This is a city of love, and everybody wants to support each other,” Cooper said.
Jamie Lee Curtis donates $1 million to fire aidMeanwhile, Jamie Lee Curtis, one of many Hollywood celebrities who lived in the California neighborhoods ravaged by wildfires this week, said her family would donate $1 million to relief efforts.
The Oscar winner said she and her husband, actor and director Christopher Guest, and their children had pledged $1 million to support “our great city and state and the great people who live there.”
Curtis said she was in contact with officials about “where those funds need to be directed for the most impact.”
Her post featured a picture of smoke billowing above the famed Santa Monica Pier.
View this post on InstagramOn Wednesday night, Curtis choked back tears as she described the devastation in the neighborhood of Pacific Palisades during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
“Where I live is on fire right now, literally the entire city of Pacific Palisades is on fire,” she said. “This is literally where I live – everything, the market I shop in, the schools my kids go to. Friends, many, many, many, many, many friends, now have lost their homes.”
“It’s just a catastrophe,” Curtis said.
View this post on Instagram Appeal to TV networksCORE, an aid organization co-founded by Sean Penn, said it was distributing masks and other supplies to help people in areas with poor air quality because of wildfire smoke.
“Hacks” star Jean Smart called on TV networks to drop plans to televise upcoming Hollywood awards shows and instead donate to wildfire relief and first responders.
“ATTENTION,” the Emmy winner wrote on Instagram. “With ALL due respect during Hollywood’s season of celebration, I hope any of the networks televising the upcoming awards will seriously consider NOT televising them and donating the revenue they would have garnered to victims of the fires and firefighters.”
One upcoming show, the Critics Choice Awards, was postponed by two weeks because of the fireslegend bet, and next week’s Oscar nominations were delayed by two days. Several film premieres have been canceled, and some TV productions have been paused.
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