Separated by nearly 3,000 miles, few communities are farther apart geographically than Altadena, Calif., and Rye.
But that didn’t stop local families from doing what they could to lend some support in the aftermath of a tragedy with the magnitude of California’s wildfires.
A raffle was held during the Rye boys basketball home game on Jan. 10 against Byram Hills to raise money for both the Rye basketball team and Rayuela, a bilingual preschool program whose building was lost during the fires in Altadena.
The raffle raised $500, but the generosity didn’t end there. Another $750 in donations came in after the game to support the wildfire victims. Combining half the raffle proceeds with those donations after the game brought the total for California to $1,000.
Alexandra Tapicha, the mother of former Rye basketball player Sebastian Medina and current Rye junior Valeria Medina, has a close connection to the preschool in Altadena, inspiring raffle organizers to donate to the school.
“I lived in Los Angeles a long time and knew my friends were suffering,” said Tapicha, who lived in California with her husband, Carlos Medina, and kids before they moved to St. Louis, Singapore, and eventually, Rye, in July 2021. “I was texting with my friends all the time, because most of them were affected.”
Tapicha posted her sympathies for California on Instagram, which caught the eye of RHS varsity basketball mom Daniela Kehoe, who organized the raffle alongside other Rye basketball moms Melissa Boisseau and Andrea Kessner.
“I bought a ticket to help, thinking this is such a great idea to help people in LA,” Tapicha said. “Then Daniela sent me a text saying, ‘We got $1,000 to give to Rayulea.’ I couldn’t believe it. My first reaction was ‘Oh my goodness,’ and then, ‘Thank you.’”
Liliana Martinez, the owner of Rayuela, is close friends with Tapicha and her family. One of Rayuela’s other centers survived the fires, and the group is working with affected families to find temporary solutions for their childcare needs.
“She opened the school 10 years ago,” Tapicha said of Martinez. “It was not easy to create a school, and she’s worked hard every day trying to keep parents informed and everything in order. They went to sleep one night, and the fire was in Pasadena four miles away, but the winds changed, and the next morning, the school was gone. They’re heartbroken.”
Local Rye businesses Sportech and Arcade Books donated gift cards as raffle prizes. Baskets also were raffled with basketball gear donated by Rye families. Raffle winners included three families from Rye and one from Byram Hills.
To donate to Rayeula’s efforts to rebuild, go to the GoFundMe site launched at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-rayuela-rebuild-after-fire-loss.
