Can you imagine losing everything you've worked for, overnight? All the work, long hours, sacrifices made, to earn and save in order to buy a home. Your home. It's unimaginable, but it's reality for thousands of people in Los Angeles, including some of my best friends, Sarah, Larry & Ana, and their families.

I'm Gloria McCann and I want to raise as much money as possible while training for the Paris Marathon, to help my dear friends who have been devastated by the fires in Los Angeles. All money raised will go directly to support the rebuilding of their homes and lives.

In their own words, please read what they went through and donate generously, if possible. It WILL make a difference and will go directly to rebuilding their homes and lives:

Larry, Ana, and their daughter, Noa:

We lost our home.

In the most surreal and difficult event we have faced as a family, our home is now merely ashes. We were fortunate to escape the fire as we grabbed a few important documents, computers, and our most precious girl, Noa & furry family member, Little Willie, along with the clothes on our backs & shoes on our feet.

We jumped in the car fully expecting to return the next day to start cleaning some debris, dust, and check in with our wonderful neighbors. Unfortunately, we were not so fortunate. The next morning we would find everything we owned and the home we spent years working on gone. We had painted every wall, redid every inch of floor and dotted our walls with images of our little family adventures now gone. We are very proud of what we created, and now incredibly devastated by the loss.

Our house is gone, however the memories live on in our hearts & minds not only of our place but of the entire community of Altadena, which seemingly lost every local shop, restaurant and cafe.

We are extremely grateful to be safe and relatively sound while huddling up at Ana's parents place, who graciously opened their home and incredible big hearts. To everyone who reached out, checked in, called, texted, emailed, messaged, we thank you and please know we appreciate you showing your love and we share that same love for you.

We lost a home, we keep the memories forever. We will be okay.

Sarah & Holger

I’ve lost family photos, college paintings, and countless other mementos....most importantly, we are safe. Thank you for all the support and love, we have really felt it and appreciated it. I am raw, underslept, and overstimulated. But I am alive and I have @realholgerbesch by my side ❤️

The neighborhood is completely devastated. It was completely surreal to be inside my home looking so normal. I am struggling hard with this loss, the devastation to my community, my loved ones who have lost everything, and the uncertainty of the road ahead. I am grateful for the outpouring of support and love, checking in, and offers for help. We consider ourselves EXTREMELY lucky. It’s an absolute miracle that house is standing.