With 20% of Smith students calling the West Coast home and California being one of the most represented states on campus, the California wildfires have devastated the Smith community. California’s Incident Archive states that in 2025 alone, there have been 359 wildfires, 29 fatalities and 16,248 structures destroyed. Gaby Ayala Becerra ’25 and Hadley Vareschi-Woelfel ’25, with the help of Smith Athletics and the Smith Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), have transformed their grief into action by organizing a campus-wide Jog-a-Thon to raise money for relief efforts.
The event will take place in the quad, with the choice to “run, walk, or dance” around the small loop. Participants can choose any number of laps they want to complete, or the organizers can provide them with the number of laps needed to complete common race distances of 2k, 5k, 10k or a half marathon.
Participants can find sponsors to pledge money for each lap they complete, or they can sponsor themselves. All proceeds will be donated to the Palisades Branch Library Recovery Fund organized by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles. Although the event was postponed twice due to snow, over $600 has already been raised through registrations alone. The event is now scheduled for Mar. 9 with a secured snow location of the Indoor Track and Tennis Facility (ITT) if the weather moves the event inside. The organizers will release more information closer to the event on their Instagram, @jogathonforla2025.
For Becerra, this cause hits close to home. “I have a lot of friends and family, close friends that live in the Palisades that were affected by the Palisades fire,” she said. She believes supporting a library is the best way to help the most people. “Libraries are important resources of information […] so we wanted to make sure that was still available for a lot of people going through a tough time.”
The fund provides direct support to the Pacific Palisades community through educational and literacy programs for children, as many of the schools in the area have been destroyed. In addition, the fund will provide wi-fi hotspots and computers to keep residents connected and cover other costs they may need for emergency relief services.
Becerra returned to campus before the fires started. She said this made her feel disconnected from her home state in its time of need. “A lot of my friends back home are holding clothing drives, food drives, volunteering to help collect things from people’s houses that burned and I just felt like I wasn’t doing anything over here,” said Becerra.
She anticipated that other Smith students would feel similarly and saw an opportunity to meet both her hometown’s need for aid and her peers’ need for connection. “I know that Smith is a great community that you can lean on,” Becerra said. “And I was like, wow, people always like being active and being a student-athlete on campus, I really knew that I could lean on that community as well because Smith Athletics is always going to be supportive.”
Smith Athletics is working with Becerra to reserve the quad for the event, while SAAC will assist with promotion and other organizing efforts. Smith Cheer will be there to encourage the runners, Smith Dining Services will be providing snacks and drinks and a DJ from Smith Lacrosse will be keeping the energy high with music.
This event reaches beyond current students as well. “Something that we’re implementing, which is really exciting, is that we’re working with the Smith Office for Admissions as well as Alumni Relations to work with Smith alums that have reached out that want to sponsor Smithies,” Becerra said.
Alumni can participate virtually by filling out the registration form and committing to jogging in their own home state or can choose to be a donor or sponsor a Smithie on campus. The event is also open to Five College students who want to support the cause.
During a time of political division across the country, Becerra emphasized how inspiring it was to see the California community organizing to help each other. “I think the community really came together immediately offering support,” she said. “Whether it was you can stay in my house for a few days or several weeks or I’ll cook dinners for you or we’ll donate a bunch of clothes that don’t fit us anymore or offering spaces to do work virtually since you can’t go into the office.”
Becerra’s efforts are part of a nation-wide action to raise funds. “It’s hard to fathom that your whole world is falling apart,” said Becerra. “So it’s important to lean on your friends and community.”
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