Helpful Honda Dealers Surprise Altadena Family With Van of Gifts After 13 Months of Displacement

An Altadena family that has been forced to move 10 times since the Eaton Fire destroyed their Olive Avenue home received a van filled with clothing, shoes, toys, and gift cards from the Southern California Honda Dealers’ Helpful Honda campaign.

Tom and Lydia Sawyer are raising three grandchildren — Ariel Hernandez, 11, Avery, 6, and Aaron, 2 — and lost their home and all their possessions when the fire swept through Altadena on January 7, 2025. The home, owned by Lydia’s 87-year-old uncle Richard Castañeda, had sheltered four generations of the family. Their insurance claim was denied because they were late on a payment, according to CBS LA.

Thirteen months later, the family had not been able to replace many basic items, including shoes.

“The main thing we lost is the memories,” Tom Sawyer said, according to CBS LA.

Members of the Helpful Honda campaign — a community outreach program run by the association of roughly 50 Southern California Honda dealerships — said they saw the family’s story on CBS LA and decided to act.

“We were very moved,” said Deanna Whitfield, a Helpful Honda representative.

The gifts included new shoes and a Bluetooth speaker for Sawyer, an anime figurine for Ariel, clothes and toys for the younger children, and gift cards for bills, gas, insurance, and educational expenses. Ariel read a letter to her grandparents that stated their “devotion to family, resilience and hard work to rebuild your lives has not gone unnoticed,” according to CBS LA.

“I don’t know what to say,” Sawyer said. “I usually have a lot to say.”

The family’s experience reflects a broader crisis among Altadena renters displaced by the fire. Among those who rented before the fire, almost 75% still did not have permanent housing as of January 2026.

Since losing their home, the Sawyers have stayed in a cottage, several hotels, and multiple short-term rentals across Azusa, Arcadia, Monrovia, Alhambra, and Glendale. Ariel told CBS LA in January that when her grandfather picked her up from school, she never knew where they would be staying.

“I’m really grateful,” Sawyer said. “It’s a lot of stuff and I’m just really grateful my grandkids are happy; it touches my heart.”