Kathy Eldon Fosters Hope for the Future

Kathy EldonThe MY HERO Project

On January 7, 2025, a small fire broke out in Topanga State Park in the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, California. The fire spread quickly, owing to strong dry winds blowing across LA, and forced hundreds of families to flee their homes and leave everything behind.[1] Within a matter of days, several wildfires were burning across LA, destroying entire communities in their paths. As of January 14, twenty-four people have lost their lives,[2] more than 150,000 people are under evacuation orders, and approximately 10,000 buildings and 40,0000 acres have been destroyed.[3]

One of the few buildings saved was the home of long-time friend and supporter of The MY HERO Project, Kathy Eldon. Kathy Eldon is a journalist, author, film and television producer, and loving mother to two children, Dan and Amy. Kathy’s life changed drastically in 1993 when Dan was tragically killed alongside three colleagues whilst working in Somalia as a photojournalist for Reuters; he was just twenty-two years old. Since then, Kathy has embodied hope and compassion and has continued to inspire young people to follow Dan’s example in telling important and unheard stories to better the world.

In the aftermath of the fires, Kathy created a short salon series to help cultivate a sense of hope for those affected. During the first session of the series, Boundless Hope, Kathy shared her story with the attendees. Said Kathy,

[Dan’s] death plunged me into a sense of loss that makes you think, “I will never get through this. I’ll never get over it. I will never be happy again.” [My daughter] Amy and I literally looked at each other and we said, “We must turn this into a force for good.” It took a long time and a lot of endless tears and endless wondering, “How do we do that?” But we now are the embodiments of healing. That’s not to say that we don’t cry a lot, that we don’t go back into despair and pain – but we know that we can get through it. And that’s why we’re here. […] I’ve been to a different place, but I understand the waves of grief.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, she explained 

I have nothing left. So my job right now, because we have the centre for Dan Eldon, is to help rebuild the community. My entire life has been in preparation for this moment.[1]

Both Kathy and Amy, through their non-profit organization The Creative Visions Foundation, have been helping young people to create projects that create awareness around humanitarian, social, and environmental issues.The Creative Visions Center, along with Kathy’s home, was saved from the blaze by their neighbor Dr. Chester Griffiths,[2] who had been preparing for a disaster such as the Palisades Fires for some time. He had completed Citizen’s Emergency Response Training,[3] outlined a plan with his son and fellow neighbors, and sourced fire hoses in the hopes that they would be able save as much of his community as possible. As a neurosurgeon, Dr. Griffiths is used to high-pressure situations. He had completed two brain surgeries that day before traveling back to protect the six buildings on his street. In an interview with The Telegraph, Dr. Griffiths’ son, Chester Jr., explained, “This has all been, honestly, under the leadership of my dad. He’s been preparing for this for so long. He’s a champion; he has a warrior mentality.”[4]

For Kathy, Dr. Griffiths’ heroism saved much more than buildings. Not only were Dan’s journals still in the home at the time,[5] but the Creative Visions Center contained important resources for the young people that the organization supports. Eldon explained in an appearance on CNN

[The Creative Visions] building exists to support the storytellers who will tell our world what is going on. We have hundreds of projects and Productions under Creative Visions, and we have Students Rebuild, which is touching millions of kids to teach them how to tell stories. We need stories that talk about the greed that is driving our planet’s temperatures to rise and minimize the resources that we have. That's the purpose. Dan was telling a story. He died to tell a story with three other people… We have to tell the stories that are going to move people's hearts and minds to make different decisions.

Inspiring environmental activism in others is particularly important to Kathy in the wake of this disaster. “[I feel] an absolute commitment to trying to do what I can to transform this horror into something that is positive,” she explained, “and that is to tell the story of why it is happening in the first place. […] We have to realize the root cause and shift our gears.”[6] Later in the interview, she spoke about her belief that youth not only have the power, but the desire to create change.

I think it's going to be driven by children. These kids are not going to stand by and say yes to climate deniers. They know that it's human made climate issues. They are aware of what's happening in other parts of our world, with other refugees in the Middle East, in Sudan, in Ukraine. They're going to understand. I think they're going to be more compassionate and aware and – please God – connected to one another, to save their future because it's really about the future of kids. Forget about the future of the planet, it's about the future of our kids.

In the wake of the fires, Creative Visions have partnered with several organizations through their #CreateConnectCare program to support young people and provide parents, carers, and educators with resources and information about supporting mental health and wellbeing, so that they are better equipped to navigate the grief of losing theire homes and communities. And, as always, the Creative Visions will encourage young people to share stories as a means to create change.

As she has always done, Kathy Eldon has turned the tragedy in LA into an opportunity for something positive to emerge. Not only is Kathy fostering hope and inspiring others to take action to better our world, but showing faith in young people to tell stories, challenge the status quo, and save their futures.

To read more about Kathy Eldon, click here.

Learn more about the Dan Eldon Activist Award here.

[2] Coen, Susie. How a ‘warrior’ brain surgeon saved his Malibu street from wildfires and looters [Online] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/01/11/courageous-brain-surgeon-saved-malibu-street-wildfires. 2025.

[3] Benjamin Bamsey. Kathy Eldon speaks to CNN about the neighbors who saved her home from the Palisades Fire [Online] Available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB_AAHyXu40. 2025.

[4] Coen, 2025.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Bamsey, 2025.