Avery Colvert, 14, started Altadena Girls as a way to help her friends who had lost everything in the fires. Shelters and donation spaces had necessities like food, water, and blankets ...

Just last month, 14-year-old Avery Colvert watched thousands of buildings, including her school, in her hometown of Altadena, Calif., engulfed by flames. But “while many felt paralyzed by loss ...

Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for TIME Avery Colvert received her honor for founding Altadena Girls — "a late-night idea dreamt up only 46 long days ago when my neighborhood, school and ...