Donations will provide direct relief to families affected by the fire through Angeleno Cards, food distribution, air purifiers, and other essential resources delivered through trusted neighborhood partners
The Guardian’s in-depth look at the lasting impact of last summer’s ICE raids on Los Angeles communities features the People’s Hearing on Immigration Enforcement, hosted at the California Community Foundation. The piece centers the testimony of Brian Gavidia, a US citizen who was pinned against a gate and detained by ICE agents at his East LA workplace, and traces how the raids have permanently altered the lives of workers, families, and small business owners across the city.
Daily Kos covered the People’s Hearing on Immigration Enforcement, hosted at the California Community Foundation, drawing on testimony from immigrants, small business owners, and advocates about the ongoing financial, physical, and mental health impacts of ICE raids across Los Angeles. The piece highlights testimony from Raquel Roman, executive director of CCF grantee Proyecto Pastoral, who described families still living in fear a year after the raids began.
La Opinión covered the People’s Hearing on Immigration Enforcement, hosted at the California Community Foundation, where community members, advocates, and civil rights leaders testified about the lasting impact of last summer’s ICE raids on immigrants, families, and businesses across Los Angeles. CCF President and CEO Miguel A. Santana was among the official witnesses to the testimony, which will be compiled into a future public record by CCF and co-conveners Hispanic Federation, Latino Victory Foundation, Texas Civil Rights Project, and CHIRLA.
A massive map of the Palisades Fire, the emotional and symbolic centerpiece of the Malibu Community Long-Term Recovery Group office, is featured in a Palisadian Post story. CCF’s contribution to the project through its Community Healing and Restoration initiative, which has distributed more than $8 million grants to more than 60 programs dedicated to strengthening community bonds, is highlighted. “Folks touch these maps and tell the story of their loss,” said Rosemary Veniegas, CCF senior vice president of impact and outcomes. “It gives people a chance to be seen and heard in their own words.”
The Pasadena Star News published a story about the Altadena Rotary’s work on behalf of Eaton fire survivors, noting that grants from CCF and the Pasadena Community foundation helped fund at least four pancake community gatherings that brought displaced families back to town to share food and rekindle connections.
Pasadena Now featured a story about a free Saturday night summer concert series in Loma Alta Park, which is supported by CCF and other partners. The park sustained damage from the Eaton Fire in January 2025 but was reopened in May after a $3.4 million renovation.
Democracy is not self-sustaining. Progress depends on people choosing to participate — to speak out, organize and vote in defense of the future they want for their communities. In moments of uncertainty and division, democracy is tested by whether people still believe they have a voice and a shared responsibility to one another. As Americans, every election is an opportunity to reaffirm the democratic values that define our nation — participation, representation, freedom of expression and civic responsibility.
CCF President and CEO Miguel A. Santana delivered the keynote commencement address at California State University Dominguez Hills in May and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. In his remarks, he shared his experiences as a first-generation college student and his battles with “imposter syndrome,” wondering if he belonged. “You belong in every room you walk into. You belong at every table you sit at,” he told the graduates. “As you move through life, measure success not only by what you achieve—but by how many people feel seen, supported, and loved because you were here. In the end, the goal is not simply to rise. It is to rise while lifting others with you.”
Numerous media covered a story highlighting Miguel Santana as the keynote speaker at Cal State Dominguez Hills’ graduation. CSUDH also conferred an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to Santana. The doctorate is in recognition of Santana’s decades of leadership advancing equity, economic opportunity and social justice in Los Angeles. In his remarks, Santana related his experiences as a first-generation college student—something he shares with over 44 percent of 2026 the graduates—“trying to navigate systems that were never designed with us in mind, often wondering if I truly belonged.” Santana shared his own battles with “imposter syndrome,” or as he put it, “That voice that tells you, ‘You don’t belong here,’ ‘You’re not ready,’ or ‘You’re not enough.’” The Daily Breeze and CSUDH also covered the graduation.
Miguel Santana was quoted in a story on an effort to reform the so-called Mansion Tax or ULA by engaging with local and state leaders. CCF strongly supported Measure ULA’s passage in 2022 and is now leading efforts to reform it by engaging with local and state leaders. Known as “Affordable LA: Mend It, Don’t End It,” a coalition is arguing that the real estate transfer tax – originally pitched as a way to fund affordable housing and homelessness programs – is instead constraining housing production, slowing real estate activity and draining public revenues. “There have been some unintended consequences,” said Miguel Santana.
Miguel Santana and LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger joined Politico for a roundtable discussion on fire recovery nearly 500 days after the Los Angeles wildfires. “When survivors tell their stories directly, it stops being political and becomes human,” Santana said. “Communities across the country understand disaster and recovery — and when people hear firsthand what families in Altadena and the Palisades have lost, and what it takes to rebuild homes, schools, businesses and places of worship, it becomes impossible to look away.”