Help Jenna Felling Recover After Eaton Fire

On the evening of Tuesday, January 7th, Jenna and her daughter were given an immediate evacuation order for the Eaton fire that began raging in Altadena. They packed up a few belongings, their cat Bean, and headed to a safe place. By noon the next day, their house was reduced to rubble. So many homes have been lost in the Eaton and Palisades fires, and so many people's lives have been marked by these events.

For those who’ve not yet had the joy of meeting Jenna, let me tell you about her. Jenna is an art department coordinator in commercials. She is perpetually looking after those around her. She meets you with a warm wit and humor that immediately makes you feel like family. She is a fierce and wise friend, often with a story to relate to what you’re going through, and always with an open heart to hear you out. She has helped so many people get work, keep work, get into their union, and keep their rate on jobs. All of this while working behind the scenes to maintain smooth logistics for her department. She sometimes refers to herself as the janitor, and she is in so many ways. Jenna understands how to be a cog in the wheel and yet can’t help but stand out because of what a kind, level, joyous, funny, considerate, generous, and special person she is.

Jenna is the coordinator you want on a job when things start going south – she’s good in a crisis. Even after her house burned to the ground, she’s managed to crack jokes. Jenna is an incredible mother to a very cool daughter and has worked so hard to provide a home for the two of them. They’re safe and have one another, but they’ve lost everything else. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve expressed a need for something and Jenna has said, “Oh, I have one of those in my garage, I’ll bring it tomorrow.” And then she shows up with the thing you needed plus something like a rubber rotisserie chicken just because she thought it was funny. None of these objects made Jenna who she is, but they were tiny talismans – imbued with her amusement and generosity – extensions of her that stretched out into the world in all directions.

The fact is that Jenna’s going to be occupied for a while with insurance claims and managing displacement while trying to keep things as normal as possible for her and her daughter. Having to find work and be as present as she is for her job – being the janitor – on top of all of that is too much for one single mom. Please help us take one thing off her plate so she doesn’t have to worry about work as she shows up for this particular crisis.

Eric Archer and I (Lindsey) are long time Los Angeles colleagues and friends of Jenna who adore her and want to help her rebuild her life. We hope she can fill it with the things she and her daughter need (clothes, food, rent on their temporary housing) and why not a rubber rotisserie chicken, cause you never know.