Palisades Fire Relief Fund: Louvenia Jenkins, 96

Louvenia Jenkins is a survivor of the 2025 Pacific Palisades fire that saw her home of seventy-odd years and all her possessions reduced to ash. Louvenia Jenkins is a 97-year-old neighbor of the Pacific Palisades. She is one of the first individuals of African descent to own property in the Palisades, and certainly the first Black woman to be a homeowner in the neighborhood.

Louvenia Jenkins was and is loved by many, having been an educator in Southern California for years, and a mentor to friends and family for many more years. Just last year, students at Santa Monica Community College made a documentary about her life and, equally as important, how she uplifted the lives of those around her. Not so long ago, she invested much of her personal wealth to create the UNCF scholarship #byLAforLA. Her investment funded the Richard L. Sykes Memorial Scholarship, named after her cousin. Starting in the 2019-2020 academic year, the Sykes Memorial Scholarship supported 25 rising first-year African American students who were residents of the greater Los Angeles area, through up to five years of college.

In many of our times of need, she was there. Now, it is only right that in her time of need, we as a community stand beside her.

Her property is gone, and she has little hope to see it restored within her lifetime, but we can still afford her comfort.

The funds generated for this campaign will be used to support Louvenia Jenkins and her caregiver, Jose, who rescued Louvenia from her home and has been working around the clock to ensure the safety and comfort of Louvenia in these trying times. The most pressing concern at the moment is securing adequate lodging for a woman of her age.

I am a relative of Ms. Jenkins, who lives and teaches in the state of Louisiana. I have been asked personally by Ms. Jenkins to help manage her affairs and to raise funds to help support her in the process of getting back on her feet and finding some sense of normalcy.