Saturday, March 28, 2026

Supervisor Barger Honors Teen-Founded Altadena Girls With Commemorative Scroll

Supervisor Kathryn Barger joins Altadena Girls Founder and President Lauren Sandidge in displaying a commemorative scroll presented to the organization. [Diandra Jay/LA County]

The Old Town Pasadena nonprofit has distributed more than one million items to fire-affected families since the January 2025 Eaton Fire

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger presented a commemorative scroll Thursday to Altadena Girls at the nonprofit’s Old Pasadena community center, recognizing the youth-founded organization’s disaster response work as Women’s History Month draws to a close.

The scroll honors Lauren Sandidge, the organization’s president, and her daughter Avery Colvert, who co-founded Altadena Girls at age 14 just three days after the January 2025 Eaton Fire, according to a press release from Barger’s office. The recognition comes more than 14 months after the fire destroyed thousands of structures in Altadena, an unincorporated community within Barger’s Fifth Supervisorial District, where many families remain displaced.

Colvert, now 15, launched the effort with an Instagram post on January 10, 2025, asking for clothing, beauty products and personal care items to help her friends “feel confident and like themselves again,” according to the 19th News. The post drew more than 28,000 likes and celebrity support, according to Good Good Good.

The organization has since distributed more than one million items to approximately 5,000 girls and their families, according to the Barger press release. It opened an 11,000-square-foot community center at 225 E. Colorado Blvd. in October 2025, according to LAist and multiple news outlets. The Barger press release described the facility as 12,000 square feet located “in Altadena”; the organization’s own website lists its Pasadena address.

The center includes areas for creative expression, academic support and wellness activities, as well as a free boutique offering clothing and personal care items, according to the press release. Programming includes workshops and support services for girls experiencing housing displacement, the press release states. The first cohort of about 70 girls received free memberships, according to Los Angeles Magazine.

“What began as a grassroots effort to help peers in a moment of crisis has grown into a deeply impactful and enduring organization,” Barger said in the press release. “Altadena Girls has filled a critical gap by creating a space where young women can reconnect, rebuild, and move forward.”

During the visit, Sandidge gave Barger a tour of the donation management area, according to the press release.

A commemorative scroll is a ceremonial recognition issued by a county supervisor; it does not carry funding or policy commitments. Altadena Girls previously received statewide recognition when state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) named it the 2025 California Nonprofit of the Year for Senate District 25, according to Pérez’s office.

Colvert told the Westridge Spyglass in February that her goals have shifted beyond emergency relief. “Now I think my goal has changed to helping girls feel that all the time, even when there’s not a crisis happening,” she said.

Sandidge told the 19th News in January that sustaining attention remains a challenge. “It’s naturally what happens,” she said. “Everyone comes around. There are headlines. People want to help. And then the intensity dies down.”