The Altadena Girls Prom That Made Everything Feel Normal Again
I'm looking at these photos my husband Dave took at our house last weekend, and honestly? I can't stop smiling. There's my 13-year-old daughter Veda, absolutely glowing with her 8th grade friends as they prep for the Altadena Girls prom—the same girls she's been running around with since kindergarten at Odyssey Charter School.
Truth has it, these kids have had a pretty rough year. Their sister school burned down in January, their school is too close to the burn zone, so they've been finishing 8th grade at a completely different school, and let's just say "normal" hasn't been a word we've used much lately.
Enter Avery Colvert, a 14-year-old who decided to throw a prom. And not just any prom—one specifically for teen girls who've been dealing with all the fire aftermath.
Our Altadena Story
We moved to Altadena in 2013, drawn by the community spirit and that breathtaking landscape tucked against the San Gabriel Mountains. It felt like the perfect place to raise our family—close enough to the city, but with that small-town feeling where your kid's teacher knows your name and neighbors actually talk to each other.
I built Cheeks + Co, my facial and brow spa in Old Pasadena, with Altadena as our home base. Over the years, I've watched this community show up for each other in countless small ways. But nothing prepared me for how we'd need to show up after the Eaton Fire.
How We Got Here
The January fires were rough on everyone. Veda and her friends lost their school, and honestly, it's been weird watching them try to finish 8th grade somewhere completely different. These are kids who've known each other since they were five—suddenly they're missing all the end-of-middle-school stuff they'd been looking forward to.
At Cheeks + Co, we definitely felt the impact too. When people are dealing with losing their homes, facials, brows and lash lifts understandably aren't the priority. It's been a challenging six months for a lot of local businesses.
But watching these kids adapt has been something else. They've stayed connected despite everything being different, and honestly, they've handled it all way better than most adults would.
Then Avery Happened.
Avery Colvert is 14 and apparently doesn't believe in the word "impossible." After her school burned down too, she started Altadena Girls to help get clothes and supplies to girls who lost everything. What started as helping her friends turned into this whole movement that somehow got Paris Hilton and Ariana Grande posting about it.
By May, she was organizing a full prom for 400 girls. The "Glitter and Glamour" prom was specifically for kids who'd been affected by the fires and might have missed their spring dances.
I'll admit, when Veda first mentioned it, I wasn't sure what to expect. But this girl really went all out— she even dressed up like Padmé Amidala because, in her words, why not?
The Night Itself
Having all the girls and their parents gather at our house before the prom was exactly what these kids needed. Dave got some great photos of everyone together, and you can just see how happy they all were. Veda and her Odyssey friends looked like themselves again—not like kids who'd been through something difficult, just like normal teenagers getting excited for a big night.
And of course, after the official parent photos, they all snuck out front to secretly record TikTok videos. Some things never change, no matter what you've been through.
Of course, Veda had to convince me to give her her monthly facial a little early so she'd be extra smooth for prom. We did a dermaplaning facial, and she was so excited about how glowy her skin looked. Sometimes the little things matter just as much as the big gestures.
The whole thing came together thanks to donations from brands like Skims and Rare Beauty, plus a bunch of volunteers who showed up to make it special. What really got me was seeing how the girls supported each other. After months of everything feeling uncertain, they had this one night where everything felt normal again.
Avery somehow pulled it all together in just a couple weeks, which is pretty impressive for anyone, let alone a 14-year-old.
What Just One Night Can Do
I keep coming back to something Avery said: "It's been a long couple of months since the fires and I'm excited to see everyone on the dance floor laughing, dancing and just being teens again."
That's exactly what I see in these photos. Veda laughing with friends she's known since they were learning to tie their shoes. These girls who've carried so much weight this year, suddenly just being kids again. As a mom, you want to fix everything for your child. You want to make the hard things easier, the scary things less frightening, the unfair things right again. But sometimes the most powerful healing comes from unexpected places—like a teenager who decides to throw a prom because she knows what it means to lose everything and still believe in celebration.
What's Next
Altadena Girls is opening a permanent space on Colorado Boulevard, right next to BadAsh Bakes (that viral bakery with the insane lines for their cinnamon buns—Ashley's cookies i hear are definitely worth the two hour wait though). It's pretty cool that Colorado Boulevard is having this moment with both spots opening up.
The permanent location means girls will have ongoing support, not just for one special night. For kids who lost so much, having a consistent place to go for clothes, supplies, and community seems really important.
Plus, Senator Pérez named Altadena Girls the 2025 California Nonprofit of the Year, which is pretty amazing recognition for something that started just a few months ago.
And then, 8th grade graduation! What?! It really does go by so fast. Especially when you throw in a global pandemic and your town burning down.
Why This Matters
Sometimes you don't realize how much your kid needs something until you see them get it. Having all the girls and their parents gather at our house before the prom—everyone laughing and taking photos, just being normal families celebrating a big night—reminded me how important those moments are. We moved to Altadena in 2013 because we loved the community feel, and this year really showed us what that means. It means teenagers stepping up when things get tough. It means one night being powerful enough to make everything feel okay again.
Looking at these photos, I see kids who've handled way more than they should have to, but who still know how to support each other and have fun. That's pretty special.
If you want to support Altadena Girls, check out altadenagirls.org, if you want to support Odyssey Charter Schools, visit their gofundme to donate. And definitely try BadAsh Bakes when you're on Colorado Boulevard.
