Help Sandy Pearson Who Lost Everything in the Palisades Fire

There are no words for the heartbreak we are all feeling for our beloved Sandy and her son Will.

Sandy has lived and worked in the Palisades for over 22 years and is everyone’s favorite person. When you are with her, she makes you feel like you are the most important person in the world and she treats everyone she meets with genuine kindness and warmth. It’s for that reason that she is so beloved in the Palisades community and beyond.

Upon meeting Sandy, you would never guess that she is a single mom who has almost singlehandedly raised and supported her son Will for years. She never complains, so few know that she has no safety net and only just barely makes ends meet.

You may know Sandy from the Palisades Tennis Center, where she and I first started playing tennis when our sons were in first grade. In no time Sandy was bringing people into our tennis groups, creating a community everyone wanted to join. It was only natural that she turned her gift of bringing people together into a job. Steve Bellamy, the then-owner of the tennis center, recognized her talent and quickly hired her. Sandy became the buyer for the pro shop, but was best known for organizing clinics that were so in demand that people would do most anything to join. Everyone knew that once you made it in, Sandy would go above and beyond to take care of you. She kept the vibe fun and positive and the levels strict so that players were guaranteed a great time and an amazing workout. In return, she developed a cult-like following and her clients and friends were fiercely loyal.

When she had to leave the tennis center, needing to support herself and her son, Sandy built a word of mouth tennis business from the ground up. People in the community opened their homes and courts to her because they loved and trusted her and wanted in on the magic of the community only she could create.

She gave middle and high schoolers their first jobs and hired young coaches who really needed the work. And because she treated each of them with dignity and respect, they all stepped up and became better versions of themselves as a result of the confidence she instilled in them. If a client hit hard times, Sandy would let them play for free, bringing them joy and never letting on that it was money coming out of her pocket.

Although Sandy’s business grew exponentially over the last four years and she worked seven days a week she was just barely covering her rent and expenses.

On January 7th, Sandy was across town when she got the call to evacuate from her apartment in the Palisades. When she got home she could see flames out her bedroom window. There was little time to think, so she rushed out with her son, their cat Bindi, and little else. She later watched the tv in horror as she saw her apartment building and everything she ever owned burn to the ground.

Without insurance, her livelihood that was rooted in the now displaced Palisades community, or a safety net, Sandy and her son have been left with nothing. They desperately need the funds to start over.

Sandy has given selflessly to the Palisades community for decades and now she needs our help. I feel incredibly lucky to call Sandy Pearson my best friend. She would never ask for help, but I know she desperately needs it. Please contribute whatever you can, any amount is so appreciated and really does make a difference.

Thank you for reading this and for your generosity in helping Sandy.

With love,

Pamela Mass