My name is Matt Springman, teacher and mock trial coach at Hillsdale High School.

I teach and coach two students, Stella and Kelly Shih, whose family just lost everything in a devastating fire on August 2, and they need urgent help.

Stella and Kelly are two of the kindest, hardest working, and most generous kids I've ever taught. Now, everything--literally everything--they had is gone. They are now trying to navigate the complexities of beginning to put their lives back together--dealing with very difficult insurance issues, finding a permanent place to live, replacing the essentials they need to start over, and calling on the resilience (and hope) they need to recover.

Stella is off to UCLA in a month; Kelly is about to begin her junior year in high school next week. They are suddenly without the basics to begin a new school year--including clothes, computers, backpacks, dorm room supplies, books, and a way to get to school.

Donations will go directly to the Shih family to help them begin to rebuild their lives. Any donation, big or small, will help.

Thank you,

Matt