Actor Steve Carell found a way to bring smiles to 800 high school students whose lives have been turned upside down in recent months by the Los Angeles-area wildfires.
Their prom tickets are on him!
Carell made the surprise announcement Thursday on Instagram, telling students that he was working with Alice's Kids, a charity that seeks to provides financial assistance to children in need in the hope of boosting their self-esteem.
"I work with a wonderful charity based out of Virginia called Alice's Kids, and Alice's Kids wanted me to let you know that they will be paying for all of your prom tickets," Carell said in the video, which was shown to students at six high schools in Southern California.
"If you have already paid for your prom tickets, they will reimburse you for your prom tickets," he added.
Alice's Kids is donating $175,000 toward the prom costs, covering tickets for more than 800 students, according to The Associated Press. The free tickets are aimed at students who live in the Los Angeles area, where wildfires devastated communities in January.
More than 16,200 structures were lost to the flames, which tore through the cities of Malibu, Pasadena and Altadena and the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said last month that the estimated total economic loss from the wildfires is over $250 billion.
Students from six schools in the neighborhoods where the fires claimed homes, cherished local business and community centers, like schools and churches, were recorded cheering Carell's announcement.
An Instagram video posted by John Muir High School in Pasadena shows the video being played on a projector in the auditorium, the seats filled with expectant students.
"Surprises and smiles, another day in Stangland," the caption said, referring to the school's sports mascot, the Mustangs.
The video panned from Carell's face back to the seated students, who erupted with applause listening to the projected video.
Alice's Kids posted videos of students in Altadena watching the announcement video, showing students filling an auditorium and cheering as they heard the news.
Another video showed a group of six students watching on a laptop. One student buried her face in her hands, crying as she learned she could attend her prom for free this spring. A classmate cried out, "Oh, my God!" and started dancing and clapping.
Wildfire recovery efforts are still in the beginning steps in Southern California. Newsom has asked the Department of Housing and Urban Development for $9.9 billion for grants to fire victims, homeowners, businesses and renters, as well as $5.29 billion from the Small Business Administration for homeowner and business loans.
He also requested $16.8 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with hopes to help rebuild property and infrastructure.
“Make no mistake, Los Angeles will use this money wisely,” Newsom wrote in a letter to federal officials last month.
