Sunday, March 8, 2026

Saint Mark’s School Plans Gala Fundraiser 14 Months After Eaton Fire Destroyed Altadena Campus

The independent Episcopal school, now operating from temporary sites in Pasadena and San Gabriel, will hold its annual auction at the University Club on March 14

Saint Mark’s School, the Altadena independent school that lost nine buildings to the Eaton Fire in January 2025, will hold its annual fundraising gala March 14 at the University Club in Pasadena, aiming to raise money for educational programs and the eventual rebuilding of its permanent campus.

The event, titled “Rooted and Rising,” arrives 14 months after the fire destroyed the school’s five-and-a-half-acre campus at 1050 E. Altadena Drive, along with the adjacent Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, whose congregation dates to 1906. The school was founded in 1960 by parents seeking quality education in a racially integrated setting and has served preschool through sixth-grade students since then. The gala — a spring auction and party beginning at 5:30 p.m. — will raise funds for tuition assistance for displaced families, replacement of classroom materials and technology, trauma-informed mental health services, and the costs of operating on temporary campuses while the school prepares for its long-term rebuild, according to a school press release.

Saint Mark’s resumed classes within two weeks of the fire, initially through remote learning and the hospitality of neighboring institutions, according to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. The school’s preschool relocated to the Church of Our Saviour in San Gabriel, and in less than two months the school opened Saint Mark’s Village, a 22-classroom temporary campus on the grounds of EF Academy Pasadena at 1505 E. Howard St. EF Academy provided the land at no cost.

The Village, which spans more than 12,000 square feet, was built on 32,000 square feet of previously unused land at EF Academy. PjHM Architects and WillScot designed the facility. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 4, 2025, drew more than 600 attendees, according to L.A. Parent.

“Their willingness to open their doors, share their campus, and embrace us during this time of need was an act of profound generosity,” Jennifer Tolbert, Head of School at Saint Mark’s, said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It is a life lesson for our students and for all of us about empathy, action, and community.”

Tolbert, who has led the school since 2015, also lost her own home in the fire, according to Spectrum News. The school had 325 students and 70 employees at the time of the fire. The only structure on the original campus to survive was a newly built preschool, completed after an $8.5 million capital campaign, which was saved by three men who fought embers during the fire, according to ABC7.

Saint Mark’s is now operating on two temporary campuses and says on its website that it intends to return to its Altadena home campus in the coming years.

The gala will be held at the University Club of Pasadena, 175 N. Oakland Ave. For ticket information, visit saint-marks.org or call (626) 798-8858. Donations to the school’s rebuilding fund can be made at rebuildsms.funraise.org. Contributions to the annual fund are accepted at saint-marks.org/annual-fund/.

“We are confident that when we return to our permanent campus, it will be even stronger and better for the future,” Tolbert said at the April 2025 ceremony.

Rooted and Rising: Saint Mark’s School Annual Gala. Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. Cost: Call for details. For more information call: 626-798-8858. Or click here: https://saint-marks.org/