To Make Way for Change

Avery Colvert was only 14 years old when she launched Altadena Girls, during L.A.'s devastating fires. Now, what could have been a moment has become a movement.

- BY MEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX PHOTOGRAPHS BY ART STREIBER STYLED BY MARYKATE BOYLAN

From left: Altadena Girls volunteers Lula Seifert, Journey Christine, and Laurel Kleeger-Read with Avery Colvert, the group's now-15-year-old founder.

Earlier this year the world looked on in horror as fires ravaged neighborhoods across Los Angeles. The question that unified us all—how can I help?—was more complicated than it seemed. Ways to get involved were evolving in real time, and there were many people in need.

Avery Colvert, a 14-year-old eighth-grader in Altadena whose school had just burned down, was among those receiving help. She created an Instagram account, Altadena Girls, and thanked her community for the food, water, and household items that had poured in through emergency efforts. She also voiced a need specific to young girls, putting out a call for clothing, beauty products, and small essentials that would “help my friends feel confident and like themselves again.” These little things would help girls in the community regain a much-needed sense of normalcy. That post went viral.

Support for Altadena Girls grew rapidly and stretched far beyond Los Angeles in the days that followed. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, a native of the city, was one of many people moved by Avery’s mission, and she joined volunteers to organize and distribute donations to families who needed them most.

In the months since the fires, Avery and her mother Lauren Sandidge—along with a devoted circle of volunteers and supporters—have kept up their efforts, expanding the work of Altadena Girls. They are now on the precipice of opening a community center in Pasadena to carry its spirit forward.

Of all the things Altadena Girls has provided to a community in crisis, hope may be the most powerful. Here, Avery and Lauren speak candidly with the Duchess about what inspired their action, why it resonated so deeply, and their hopes for what will come next.