Teacher Impacted by L.A. Fires Shares Student Fundraisers, Notes 'Many Families Don't Know How to Make a GoFundMe' (Exclusive)
Eric Glenn, a middle school teacher of 15 years, also gives insights on the considerations that go into reopening schools in the area
Eric Glenn; Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty
Eric Glenn discussing schools (left), Community members helping impacted familiesA middle school teacher of 15 years is reaching out to his community amid the fires impacting Altadena and Pasadena
Eric Glenn turned to TikTok to boost fundraisers from students and colleagues and their families
Glenn tells PEOPLE about the hard work that's going into bringing kids back to classrooms after the Los Angeles fires
A teacher is trying his best to keep a sense of community going for his school, one of many impacted by the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area.
Eric Glenn, a public school teacher from the Pasadena/Altadena community in his 15th school year, is happy that his home is in good shape, but cannot stop thinking about the many students and colleagues who are experiencing very different circumstances.
"Last Tuesday night, my wife and our dog and I were actually evacuated. We were close enough to the fire that we needed to evacuate but we were able to come back the next day. Our house was probably about a half-mile away from the closest house fire, so it got close but luckily, the wind died down before it could come further down the hill. So we came home to a really smoky home," Glenn tells PEOPLE.
"It wasn't long until we started hearing about all kinds of friends family, students teachers, custodians, office managers, all kinds of people that we know, who were impacted."
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In the first 48 hours, Glenn was taken aback by the extent to which people he knew were impacted.
"My wife and I have lived here for almost 25 years now. We're pretty well ingrained in the community here, and it just seems like every single person is a degree or two away from someone who lost their home. It's felt very hard," he says.
"It was hard to come home to our house and see so many people in our community in pain. We're all trying to figure out what to do," he adds. "My wife and I were sitting on our couch, and we looked at each other and were like, 'We need to help. We need to do something.' "
Glenn considered using his TikTok to amplify the different GoFundMe fundraisers he was becoming aware of as he heard from more members of his community.
"I was hopeful that ... they'd get around the nation and the world, and it worked. So I found some purpose, I suppose," he says.
As Glenn continued to make connections in his community, he began to hear from his students, primarily through social media.
"There have been some students who lost their homes and the only way I hear about that is through social media. My accounts are wide open so there are parents who follow me and I follow back. I'm seeing their posts about their demolished houses in that way. I've also had some students reach out to check on me. We have a pretty good community at our school," he explains.
"Students are comfortable reaching out to me and asking for help, but they also care about me. They were making sure I was okay, which is kind of crazy that some of them lost so much and were checking on me."
Glenn is doing his best to provide virtual community for students in the limited ways available to him.
"I posted some things on Canvas, our online learning platform. I just put up some discussion boards so students can talk and get a sense of normalcy. I got a whole bunch of emails back saying, 'This is awesome, but we lost our home,' or 'We're evacuated still.' There were students who did take advantage of it, so I've gotten word back in all kinds of forms," he says.
The timeline for getting back to school is uncertain for Glenn and so many other professionals and students throughout Los Angeles.
"The school I work at only had slight wind damage. I don't know to what extent. It's one of the many reasons why schools are closed. There's one middle school up in Altadena that has been severely damaged. It's called Elliott Middle School. It's not a complete loss, but it's been severely damaged and they have to move those students to another campus. I really hope that they find a way to keep those students together and not just separate them among the other schools," he shares.
Though Glenn's own school only suffered minor damage, there's a lot for the district to consider before reopening the schools.
"The district wants to evaluate the damage and make sure its not too extensive and that it's safe for kids to come back. I'm not allowed on campus myself. I'd get in trouble if I tried to go back. They're also making sure that the schools are staffed because there's a lot of staff at schools throughout the district who were greatly affected, or are evacuated and scattered across the state and country even."
He adds, "As of now, the schools are closed through Friday the 17th. That's the extent of time until they tell us differently."
Until things are back to normal, Glenn intends to use his platform to spread the word on individuals and families in need. He's found the response to his TikToks "overwhelming, but also really special."
"I take on the responsibility of the fact that people have decided to listen to me. I also take on the responsibility of being trustworthy with what I say in my posts so that people can continue to trust me. I make sure I'm not posting any sort of bad links and I'm posting really legitimate sources where they can give their money that will help the students and their families," he says. "It's a responsibility that I'm happy to take on it. It has given me purpose and allowed me to help."
It's important to Glenn to continue highlight the ways to help, especially as he's seen how many people are eager to make a difference.
"I know that the district is doing grab-and-go meals and people can volunteer to give out meals. These are the meals students would normally get at lunch, because lunch is free for all students. Those meals are still being prepared and given out to families who need them, The district is also giving out water and necessities and things like that," Glenn says.
"Our school has put together a fund through our annual fund that if you donate to the school, then the school will figure out which families need it most and donate that money to them," he continues. "So many families don't know how to make a GoFundMe, so we have people helping those families. We also know that we're days into this thing and the ones who made GoFundMes first have gotten the most money, so that can help there. There are so many families who don't have sources of income or family to lean on, so I know the school wants to help take care of them."
Glenn is hopeful that the generosity will continue and that the powers that be will find ways to reunite the impacted school communities.
"For the kids, even those who have lost everything, I honestly feel like getting them back in school is a good thing. It helps get their minds off that drama and gives them a sense of normalcy and being with their friends and teachers and adults who care. I think would be good for them," he says.
"That's just my opinion, but I I think that getting back to school is of utmost importance and I hope that the district figures out a way to get us back as soon as possible because I feel like we're already kind of in a mental health crisis and this is just compounding it. I think getting back to school and getting back to normalcy is super important. And it's important for me too. I really want to go back to work. I just want to go and teach."
Click here to learn more about how to help the victims of the L.A. fires.
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