With two weeks until the end of the fundraiser, Powermoves club still hopes to raise more money in support of the L.A. fire victims.
Emily Tang, a Paly junior and co-leader of the fundraiser, said the club have raised close to $4,000 in the past few weeks, alongside another $1,000 that will come in from a Canadian nonprofit organization.
The fundraiser will last until March 18, and the eventual goal is to raise $10,000.
Keerthi Raj, a junior and co-leader of the fundraiser, shared her vision for their goal.
“I think that [being] at $5,000 right now is already so amazing,” Keerthi said. “I know we’re going to succeed, and I know we’re going to meet the goal.”
Filppu initially organized this fundraiser but later handed it off to her seminar students. Sheilppu organized this fundraiser because she knows many people in this community have been more or less impacted by the fires.
“I personally was impacted,” Filppu said. “I’m from South Pasadena, and I know a lot of people down there were upfront dealing with the fires. I was devastated on a personal level, but I also felt like this could be the same for the whole Paly community. California is so at-risk right now.”
Filppu explained why people in Palo Alto should donate money to support the victims.
“We need to join together and not see communities separately,” Filppu said. “This is a fact of our lives now, it’s fire endangerment, and climate change. So I just knew we could do this. I knew that we could find a way to give back.”
Tang said that, to her knowledge, it is the first time that Filppu held such a large-scale fundraising event.
“I think this is the first time Mrs. Filppu has organized a group of students to raise money on such a large scale,” Tang said. “But the club [Powermoves Walking Club] is a great instrument to be able to hold that kind of event.”
Raj listed ways students and members of the Palo Alto community can support victims of the L.A. fires on a personal level.
“Just donating through our fundraiser would really support us,” Raj said. “I think really just showing that you care and kind of making sure you’re there for people really helps make a difference for people down in the South.”
According to Filppu, all money donated to the fundraising event will go toward the Red Cross to support victims of the L.A. fires.