Saturday, August 15, 2026

Back-to-School Giveaway Returns Saturday to a Rebuilding Altadena

The Woodbury Road storefront that took on smoke and water when the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena will spend Saturday handing out free backpacks and school supplies instead. 

The distribution is the Altadena date of the sixth annual Back to School Giveaway, run by Darden Leadership & Career Academy and Simply Divine Academy. The academies held a first date in 

Monrovia on Aug. 8, at 301 West Huntington Drive, Monrovia, and set a second date on Aug. 15 at Simply Divine’s Altadena location at 421 East Woodbury Road.

Registration is required and limited to one day per family, and is available online, the city said. On their event flyer, the organizers name Altadena Rising as giving out free laptops, with students required to register and apply while supplies last, and say food will be provided. Which organization of that name is involved was not independently confirmed, and the laptop, hours and food details appear on the organizers’ promotional materials rather than the city’s. The flyer’s accompanying post lists the hours as 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

Simply Divine traces to a hair salon Keshia Darden opened in 1992; the academy, which trains cosmetologists, barbers, estheticians and nail technicians, was established in 2013, according to the school. Its Altadena academy launched in 2025 at the Woodbury Road beauty-supply store. When the Eaton Fire swept the area, the Altadena store and the academy then under construction sustained smoke and water damage, though the store stayed open to serve the community, Pasadena Now reported. The Eaton Fire began Jan. 7, 2025, and was among the most destructive in state history, according to news reports. 

Need to know: The sixth annual Back to School Giveaway comes to Altadena on Saturday, Aug. 15, at Simply Divine Academy’s Altadena location, 421 East Woodbury Road. Organizers list hours of 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on their event posting. The giveaway is free, though registration is required, is limited to one day per family, and can be completed online, according to the City of Monrovia. Organizers have not listed dedicated parking or a public event website; for more information, or to register or confirm details, call Keshia Darden at 626‑803‑2831 or Steve Darden at 626‑421‑6884. 

The store stayed open after the fire. On Saturday, the same address gives the neighborhood’s children something to carry into the new school year.