All six members of the Luzuriaga family get involved in the Luzuriaga Foundation’s charity works. (photo courtesy of Marjorie Luzuriaga)

Marjorie Luzuriaga, a sophomore at Larchmont Charter High School and Koreatown resident, mobilized an effort to give back during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Luzuriaga, 15, serves as president of the Luzuriaga Foundation, which she founded this past spring.

“When the whole pandemic was starting in March, I noted how everyone was disconnected from talking to each other. I wanted to find a way for people who are less fortunate to connect with someone around their age … So I decided to start a nonprofit to help less-fortunate kids, [whose living situations include] homeless shelters and orphanages, and we’re trying to get hospitals,” Luzuriaga said.

Volunteers write letters of encouragement to kids around the country and around the world, and, if the recipients want, the conversation continues as a pen-pal program.

With the help of her brother, LCHS junior Marc Luzuriaga II, Marjorie Luzuriaga created a complementary club at LCHS, the Luzuriaga Foundation Club. Marc, who serves as co-president of the club with Marjorie, also works with the foundation outside of the club activities.

“My sister convinced me to work with her on the Luzuriaga Foundation because of the foundation’s slogan, ‘It starts with you. Write a letter. Make a change.’ I have been a strong believer that connection is important during one’s youth. Thus, through this foundation, I decided to take part in that mission,” Marc Luzuriaga II said in an email.

“It feels really good to do something, even when you’re at home. It’s nice to do something for less-fortunate kids because I always think to myself how I have a roof over my head and other kids don’t. It’s a great way to connect and get to know other people,” Marjorie Luzuriaga added.

Lai Sam, who teaches algebra at LCHS and serves as the club’s sponsor, said when Marjorie Luzuriaga approached her with the plan, she “thought it just seemed like a great idea.”

“[It’s] especially pertinent to distance learning right now because there are only so many things you can do from a service perspective. Writing letters seemed like a great way to get in touch with our local communities during this time,” Sam said.

So far, the approximately 20 members of the Luzuriaga Foundation Club at LCHS have sent more than 180 letters to less fortunate children, and their efforts have expanded worldwide.

Through social media, Marjorie Luzuriaga was able to connect with students at other schools who founded their own chapters, and now, more than 500 people have volunteered through the Luzuriaga Foundation Clubs, and chapters exist at schools across the U.S. Outside of the clubs, volunteers in Canada, Europe and Asia have joined the cause and started writing letters of their own.

One club member, Linda Chen, a freshman at Tottenville High School in New York City, said writing the letters has helped her overcome shyness and fulfill a desire to give back.

“Wanting to help others as much as I can has always been my goal,” she said in an email. “By volunteering at the Luzuriaga Foundation, it has brought me joy that I can brighten someone’s day just by doing little things.”

The foundation also raises money for worthy causes. For instance, this holiday season, the foundation partnered with Rachel Dourec, who chairs the Adopt-A-Family Program at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital. The teens raised $655 for the program, which purchases toys, gas cards and other needed materials for the hospital’s patients and their families. The Luzuriaga Foundation also donated ornament-making kits for the hospital patients to get creative during their play time.

In addition to the work at the hospital, the foundation has raised money to purchase clothes, food and school supplies for children in the Philippines and for the Los Angeles Mission and the Youth Emerging Stronger homeless shelter in Los Angeles.

To help with some of the fundraising projects, Marc Luzuriaga II secured assistance from Travis Fowler, who teaches AP Government and AP U.S. History at LCHS, though Fowler was quick to note that the Luzuriaga family deserves the credit.

“They’re embodying the hope of why we have these clubs on campus … It’s all student-generated,” Fowler said. “All props to them. They built the website, they figured out how to collect the money, they figured out where and how to send it to UCLA. From our side, it’s pretty easy, because we just say ‘yes, what support do you need?’”

“Marc and Marjorie, they take initiative, and to be honest, my role has been pretty hands-off,” Sam added. “They do a lot of the organizing, a lot of the planning and they’re really dedicated and committed to what they do, and you can see their passion for the club. As a club moderator, it’s been nice that I haven’t had to do much because they take initiative and get things done.”

Marjorie Luzuriaga said she’s thrilled with the surprising and “sometimes overwhelming” amount of support she’s received so far and plans to keep up the effort.

“I’m very thankful for the support that comes to this foundation and I’m glad it touched so many people when I didn’t expect it to, to be honest,” Luzuriaga said.

For information, visit theluzuriagafoundation.org.