Dan Murphy Foundation Awards College Thomas Fire Recovery Grant

A faithful benefactor of nearly 50 years, the Dan Murphy Foundation of Los Angeles has awarded Thomas Aquinas College a $511,000 grant to aid in its Thomas Fire Recovery efforts.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, it was clear that damage to the College’s campus, although far less than what so many others had experienced, would be significant. The buildings, by God’s grace and through the work of U.S. Forest Service firefighters, were all still intact, but much of the landscaping and wooded areas that surround campus had been devastated.

The fire destroyed an estimated 100 trees on campus, damaged much of the school’s irrigation system, and ruined more than 4,000 feet of perimeter fencing. It also rendered the lower portion of the campus — site of the President’s home, the walkable Stations of the Cross, and the Lourdes Grotto — inaccessible, due to the risk of falling, fire-weakened trees.

Enter the Dan Murphy Foundation, whose grant will cover the replacement of trees, fencing, and irrigation systems, as well as landscaping on the lower campus. “Once again, we find ourselves grateful to and for the Dan Murphy Foundation,” says President Michael F. McLean. “The damages to the lower campus were far greater than what insurance would cover, but thanks to the Foundation’s tremendous generosity, this beautiful part of our grounds will soon be available to us again.”

Mitigation work has already begun on the lower campus, and a complete restoration is expected to take 18 months to complete.