Friday, February 20, 2026

Altadena Thrift Store Marks Reopening With $10,000 in Scholarships for Fire-Displaced Women

The volunteer-run Daz-E Shop offers ten awards to residents who were living in Altadena when the Eaton Fire struck

A thrift store that has served Altadena for more than five decades is reopening after a year of recovering from the Eaton Fire with a direct investment in the women of the community: ten $1,000 scholarships, available to those who were living in Altadena when the fire began — even if they no longer do.

The Daz-E Shop, a nonprofit at 2525 North Lake Avenue. staffed entirely by volunteers, announced the 2026 Suzanne Burger Scholarships through its website. Applications must be postmarked by February 28, with recipients to be announced in late April and funds distributed in June.

The deadline is days away.

The eligibility requirements anchor the scholarships to the Eaton Fire’s aftermath. Applicants must have been living in Altadena at the time of the January 2025 fire, according to the organization’s website — a provision that includes residents among the thousands displaced when the blaze destroyed more than 9,400 structures across the community.

Applicants must be at least high school seniors and must be enrolled full time in a college, university, trade school or military academy within the next 12 months, according to the Daz-E Shop. Award funds will be paid directly to the educational institution upon the recipient’s acceptance or enrollment.

The Daz-E Shop describes itself as a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to celebrate the advancement of women and to provide financial pathways — through scholarships, grants and loans — for women pursuing education. The shop, which sells donated clothing, jewelry, housewares, books and other goods, was founded by women in 1969 and has operated at several Altadena locations over more than five decades, according to the organization.

The shop is operated by members of P.E.O. chapters in the Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank areas, according to its social media listings. P.E.O., the Philanthropic Educational Organization, is an international women’s organization with approximately 197,000 members focused on providing educational opportunities for women.

The Eaton Fire forced the Daz-E Shop to close after the blaze, which damaged the building’s electrical systems. Volunteers cleaned and stored all salvageable inventory while the landlord worked with the county and electricians to replace burned electrical panels and rewire the units, the shop stated on its website. The shop announced its reopening in January 2026.

The scholarship announcement coincides with that return. In addition to the Suzanne Burger Scholarships for Altadena applicants, the Daz-E Shop also offers a separate annual scholarship — the Mildred L. McEntire Daz-E Shop Scholarship — which provides $2,000 merit-based awards to women across Southern California, according to the organization’s website.

Applications for the Suzanne Burger Scholarship are available for download at dazeshop.org. Completed applications must be mailed; the Daz-E Shop can be reached at 626-794-6244.

The shop sits on the stretch of North Lake Avenue where much of Altadena’s commercial life has been rebuilding since the fire. A year later, the thrift store’s volunteers are back — and they brought scholarship money with them.