A family that vowed to rebuild after losing nine homes in the California wildfires received a surprise donation on Friday “Good Morning America”.
The Jenkins family of Altadena, Calif., will receive a $135,000 donation from the nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission, which supports people in disaster zones and their partners, Bethenny Frankel’s BStrong and Stable Road Foundation.
The Jenkins family talks to “Good Morning America” about the loss of their nine homes in Altadena, Calif., and their commitment to rebuilding after the Eaton fire.
ABC News
“It’s a small step, but trust … everyone is doing what they can to help everyone here around the world,” Global Empowerment Mission spokesman Michael Capponi told the Jenkins family.
The Jenkins family says the donation will help bring their family closer together and help with immediate housing needs.
“We have family scattered from here to Orange County (and) Arizona,” said Ed Broussard, one of the family’s cousins. – Thank you very much.
The Jenkins family talks to “Good Morning America” about the loss of their nine homes in Altadena, Calif., and their commitment to rebuilding after the Eaton fire.
ABC News
Broussard and his extended family had previously all lived within a 2-mile radius of each other in Altadena for generations. They lost everything last week Eaton fire it buzzed through the town.
The four sisters of the Jenkins family lost their home. At a sister’s house, as Broussard and cousins Will Chandler and Marcus Betts showed “GMA,” all that remained were party chairs and tables.
The Jenkins family talks to “Good Morning America” about the loss of their nine homes in Altadena, Calif., and their commitment to rebuilding after the Eaton fire.
ABC News
“They’ve had the party chairs and tables here since we met, have a game night. My aunt Paula, that was her thing – a game night,” Betts said.
“It’s a lot of heritage that we want to keep. We don’t want that to go with the houses, so we have to be here to make sure the heritage stays here,” Betts added.
Structural damage is seen from a hillside perspective after the Eaton fire on January 10, 2025 in Altadena, California.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Betts, Broussard and Chandler say they are committed to helping rebuild Changed and the houses of their families.
“We’re rebuilding. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care who it is. My family, we’re going to stay,” Broussard said. “We have electricians in the family. We have carpenters in the family. We are rebuilding.”
The historical area Altadena, one of the first areas in the US where blacks and browns were allowed to buy real estate, is one of the many communities in the Los Angeles area that were completely devastated by the devastating fires.
The Eaton fire, which started on January 7th, is now 65% contained, but has burned more than 7,000 structures and at least 14,000 acres so far. Firefighters continue to battle the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire, also in Los Angeles County, and the Auto Fire in Ventura County. About 82,000 people are still under evacuation orders and about 90,000 are under evacuation warnings.
Before the fires, Altadena was home to about 42,000 people and known for its picturesque landscape at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains.
