A story from the LA Times
On Thanksgiving, I want to highlight an act of generosity. The story is about Paradise — a town reduced to rubble but a community that has banded together in the face of daunting challenges — but begins with Rancho Santa Fe resident Bob Wilson reading a news story.
The businessman learned in the Los Angeles Times about the class of 2019 at Paradise High School and their uncertain future. It’s estimated that 80% to 90% of students lost their homes to the fire. Classmates have been scattered across county and state lines and don’t know whether they’ll see each other again. It’s unclear how this group of kids is going to graduate.
This touched Wilson. He says he decided to donate $1.1 million to the community — meaning all 980 students and 105 employees will receive $1,000 checks.
“When I read about what happened in the L.A. Times, it occurred to me that how significant high school was to me,” Wilson told the Paradise Post. “It was the last carefree time in my life.”
This last year at The Times has been wild. But now we’re under local ownership with a mandate to tell the stories of Californians — and hopefully touch people in the same way that we touched Wilson.
