One year after wildfires tore through Southern California, Wescom Financial and ForgiveCo have been spotlighting their $10 million consumer debt relief effort with support from Cori Close, UCLA women's basketball head coach, who is using her platform to help strengthen the program's impact.
Close said the devastation hit close to home, including by impacting families connected to her own team.
"Some of our most treasured supporters of our program lost their homes. We were actually on a plane on the way back from a game at Purdue with one of the families who lost their home in the fire," Close said. "They got off the plane, and it was confirmed, and we were with them, and we just hugged them, experiencing that moment with them.
"These moments in life remind us what it's all about. We all get busy. Being with these families reminded me of what's important, and it makes talking about this initiative very easy because I mean it deeply. And I'm proud to get to learn from these incredible families."
Wescom leaders said Close, a longtime Wescom member and advocate for community resilience, has played a key role in helping connect with families impacted by the fires. Before each of UCLA's last two home games, Close met with members of the community who were affected by last year's wildfires.
"One year later, the impact is still real," she said. "That's why I'm proud of my longtime partnership with Wescom Financial. Through the Wescom Foundation and ForgiveCo, $10 million in debt is being forgiven for families in wildfire-affected communities."
Progress has already been made since the program was announced last year. Of the $10 million in total debt relief, $5 million has been forgiven in the first round, benefiting more than 2,000 individuals. The average amount of debt relief per recipient was approximately $2,000. While the exact number of beneficiaries by region has not been disclosed, ForgiveCo uses debt and ZIP code data to identify individuals most affected in areas such as Altadena and Pacific Palisades. The campaign focuses on unsecured debt, with medical debt representing the largest share of relief.
Joyce Moed can be reached at joyce.moed@arc-network.com
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