The Daily Populous Sunday March 9th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by usatoday.com and submitted by nohungernocry

On Tuesday, Steve Carell surprised hundreds of California high school students, promising free prom tickets, paid for by Virginia charity Alice's Kids.

Alice's Kids provides anonymous financial assistance to children, K-12, across the country.

Alice's Kids will pay for the prom tickets of about 800 seniors at six Altadena high schools.

Steve Carell surprised hundreds of high schoolers this week by promising free prom tickets to those affected by the California wildfires.

"Attention all seniors. This is Steve Carell with a very special announcement," the actor said in a video projected in six high school auditoriums throughout Altadena, California on Tuesday.

"I work with a wonderful charity ... Alice's Kids, and Alice's Kids wanted me to let you know that they will be paying for all of your prom tickets, and if you've already paid for your prom tickets, they will reimburse you," the actor said.

Alice's Kids will pay for the prom tickets of about 800 seniors at six high schools in Altadena, according to Alice's Kids founder and executive director Ronald "Ron" Fitzsimmons. He estimated that Alice's Kids will donate about $175,000 in total.

Watch as students get the news:

Based in Virginia, Alice's Kids is a nonprofit that provides anonymous financial assistance to children in need across the country. Teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, police officers and other officials may request a grant through Alice's Kids for the needs, or even the wants, of a child. Alice's Kids has funded new glasses, sporting equipment and GED exam fees, Fitzsimmons told USA TODAY.

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Alice's Kids most often works with one student at a time, but over the years, the nonprofit has given group donations. For example, after the EF4 tornado that hit western Kentucky in 2021, Alice's Kids donated 100 Walmart gift cards to graduating seniors at an affected high school.

Following the wildfires that raged through California earlier this year, Fitzsimmons knew he wanted to help in some way. The Eaton Fire, specifically, tore through more than 14,000 acres in Los Angeles County. The six schools Alice's Kids is working with remain standing, but students who attend the schools may have lost their homes.

Fitzsimmons said he made phone calls to schools in the affected areas and was told they were overwhelmed with charitable donations.

"That's when I thought, 'Well, let's do something later on. Later on, all the charities will be gone. The kids who are seniors will be going off somewhere,'" Fitzsimmons said. "So that's when I thought, 'What can we do to lift them a little bit in a few months from now?'"

"That's when the idea of prom tickets came up."

Steve Carell's connection to Alice's Kids

About seven years ago, Alice's Kids received a "very generous donation" from Nancy Carell, Steve's wife, Fitzsimmons said.

"I looked at it and it just didn't register to me. I passed it along to my finance person and she called back and she's like, 'Ron, do you know who that donation's from?' And I said, 'Yeah, Nancy Carell?' And before she said it I went, 'Oh my god.' She said, 'That's Steve's wife,'" Fitzsimmons recalled.

About two years after the initial donation, Fitzsimmons was planning a trip to Los Angeles and asked Nancy if she and Steve would be available to meet for lunch, to finally meet in person. They made it happen.

Over the years, Fitzsimmons has kept in regular contact with Nancy.

Fitzsimmons said he doesn't like to ask a lot of Steve, as he knows he's a busy guy, but after learning that high school students are fans of "The Office," in which Carell plays the lead, Michael Scott, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to ask if he'd be interested in helping share the news.

Within 10 minutes of asking Nancy if Steve would be interested, she responded with a yes. And the next day, Fitzsimmons had the video.

Details on how the high schools will receive the funding will be ironed out the coming weeks, Fitzsimmons said.

High schools receiving funding include John Muir High School, Aveson Global Leadership Academy, Blair High School, Marshall Fundamental Secondary School, Pasadena High School and Rose City High School.

Alice's Kids serves children grades kindergarten through 12th grade and only receives grant requests from professionals who work directly with children, not requests from the general public.

In 2024, Alice's Kids helped more than 10,000 children in need, Fitzsimmons said.

When the nonprofit receives a completed request form, available on the Alice's Kids website, a team member then reviews the request. If the request is for a gift card donation, Fitzsimmons said a gift card is typically sent out within 48 hours or less of the request coming in. On average, Alice's Kids receives about 800 requests per month, he added.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.

moriero on March 8th, 2025 at 12:52 UTC »

The_bruce42 on March 8th, 2025 at 12:46 UTC »

Pysch! Here are some computer batteries instead!

SbMSU on March 8th, 2025 at 12:40 UTC »

Finally coming through for Scott’s Tots