As devastating fires continue to sweep through Los Angeles County, the community of Beverly Hills showed up in full support at the Heart of the Hills donation event on Jan. 19. Organized by the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills (Rotary) in conjunction with the Beverly Hills Fire Department (BHFD), the event provided an opportunity for Beverly Hills residents to donate clothing, toiletries and first aid supplies for victims of the fires.
The Heart of the Hills event came about when Beverly Hills Fire Chief Gregory Barton (who is the president of Rotary) asked Appointed Board Member JR Dzubak to bring together a team and organize a fire relief project. The team swiftly stepped up to help.
The event, which ran from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. outside Fire Station 1, exemplified the commitment of Beverly Hills residents to supporting neighboring communities in need.
“We take care of our families, friends, neighbors and people in general. Rotary hearts are big ones,” Rotary Immediate Past President Lillian Raffel told the Courier.
She added, “We are thrilled with the amount of goods we got. So many Rotarians and community members donated needed items. We had a large truck filled.”
Photos by Lisa Friedman Bloch
While some items will be distributed to various centers supporting fire-affected areas, Palisades-Malibu Fire Relief, Third Space at Cross Creek will receive the bulk of the items.
“We reached out to them, and they identified what was needed the most,” Raffel said.
The event also served as an opportunity for Beverly Hills residents to thank firefighters for their tireless work in supporting neighboring fire departments on the front lines.
Raffel credits the success of the event to Dzubak’s exceptional organizational skills and Barton’s generosity in opening the firehouse for Rotary donation events.
“Chief Barton has the kindest heart. The firefighters, paramedics and other staff were all so helpful, too. It was an amazing day,” Raffel said. “Rotary’s motto of ‘service above self’ shone through.”
Rotary is still accepting monetary donations to support fire relief efforts at www.bhrotary.org.
