Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, visited Altadena and Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 28, in a daylong visit organizers said was done outside the political arena.
Christopher Spolar, lead pastor of Expressions Church in Altadena, said he was asked 72 hours before the visit if Trump could meet with church members and families who have lost their homes in the two wildfires that has killed at least 27 people and destroyed more than 12,000 structures.
“We heard she wanted to come without any camera crews and that the goal was not political by any means,” Spolar said. “We wouldn’t have been comfortable if it had been politicized.”
Expressions Church had just been open for a little more than 40 days before the Eaton Fire gutted the two-story building it rented from the United Church of Christ on Kinneloa Canyon Road in Pasadena.
On Tuesday, they welcomed Trump to their new home, the former site of Foothills Community Church at 2540 E. Orange Grove Blvd. in Pasadena, where they will start holding services at 9 a.m. Sundays, beginning on Feb. 9.
The visit went well, Spolar said, with Trump helping distribute bags filled with an assortment of cleaning and hygiene supplies. She spoke with some of the 12 families who have lost their homes in the Eaton Fire. Expression Church has committed ongoing support to them.
“I think for her it was a ministry of presence,” Spolar said. “To show her care for the families and support for the churches and let us know she sees us.”
The nonprofit CityServe, a faith-based network that trains churches and its members in community ministries, organized the visit, which also included a stop at the LA Dream Center in Los Angeles to distribute relief aid to families who have been impacted by the Palisades wildfire.
More than 400 cars went through the distribution line in Altadena, according to Crissy Cochran, spokesperson for CityServe.
“CityServe Disaster Response partners with local churches because they are present before, during, and after crises,” she said. “Local churches provide not only immediate relief but also enduring hope, helping to rebuild their communities long after the headlines fade.”
Other groups that helped included Fearless Church in Los Angeles and Love Has No Limits in Dana Point, which helped gather items like water, shoes, diapers, produce boxes and bags filled with assorted home essentials.
“Many of the families Ivanka helped have lost everything,” said Dave Donaldson, co-founder of CityServe, with headquarters in Bakersfield. “Their needs are desperate. Ivanka wrapped her arms around them and listened to their stories with enormous empathy. She spent hours encouraging volunteers and first responders and distributing emergency supplies to families at Expression Church and the LA Dream Center.”
Spolar said Trump also met and thanked firefighters from Station 11.
“I think what people took away from it was ‘We are seen in our need, we’re not alone and there’s people all around us that are caring for us,” Spolar said. “Our hope is ultimately they’ll feel that God sees them and that he’s going to work through all sorts of people.”
Trump’s visit comes less than a week after her father flew in to tour wildfire damage in the Pacific Palisades. He did not come to Altadena and Pasadena on this trip.