Red Cross picks Boys and Girls Club as Palisades Fire recovery partner Play

The Boys and Girls Club of Malibu has been picked by the American Red Cross to be its local partner to provide long-term recovery resources and support for Palisades Fire survivors.

The disaster recovery coalition set up by the Malibu club has already distributed $3.3 million in cash and $3.5 million in donated goods to survivors of the Palisades Fire.

The Boys and Girls Club of Malibu has set up the Malibu Community Long Term Recovery Group, a disaster recovery coalition that works in Malibu, Topanga Canyon and Los Angeles. The Recovery Group has been working with the California Community Foundation to distribute money, but more importantly to help fire victims.

In the Palisades Fire, 16,000 structures were burned, 28 people were killed, thousands made sick, and tens of thousands of people were dislocated from houses that in some cases were 100 years old.

The Malibu-based Recovery Group brings together nonprofits, government agencies, businesses and community partners to coordinate resources and support disaster survivors through the months and years required to rebuild their lives and communities. So far, it has served more than 2,550 individuals and provided over 24,000 hours of casework and care coordination.

The American Red Cross support will expand the long-term recovery efforts of the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu's disaster case management program, says Kasey Earnest, the Chief Executive Officer of the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu.

The Red Cross director of wildfire long-term recovery says its donors are allowing the Red Cross to support communities affected by wildfire and work alongside trusted partners like the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu.

The amount of financial support going to the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu was not disclosed.