Sierra Madre school gives books away to Eaton Fire victims and teachers

SIERRA MADRE, Calif. (KABC) -- After the Eaton Fire displaced thousands of families, the road to recovery will be long.

In the midst of picking up the pieces, the Gooden School in Sierra Madre is trying to help by organizing a book drive to support teachers and families affected by the fires.

"I'm one of the victims that had their house lost so I feel so sorry for as many people who lost their house to the fire in Altadena," Isabel Melendez, an avid reader, said.

Many families and teachers lost their own collection of books in the fires.

"I really want to focus on social and emotional. When we get back as a class, I would want to work on building community again. We've all been through so much," said teacher Amelia Weinstock.

The Gooden School collected books for two weeks.

"My daughter in the fifth grade is an avid reader. We were evacuated we live in Sierra Madre. When we evacuated, she loves to read and she turns to reading for comfort and I bought her tons of books and she read while we were evacuated," Lindsay George said.

George works at the Gooden School and helped organize the book giveaway.

The goal is to do more in the future so families and teachers can discover new books and replenish their own collections.

"Being able to give people a sense of normalcy. Books are people's way to escape . It's their way to forget about things they are going on around them and immerse themselves in the stories and if we can provide that for people, we are blessed," Laurie Tor tell, assistant head of the Gooden School, said.