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Direct Relief Named TIME 2025 Dreamer of the Year

Recognition highlights the organization’s response and ongoing recovery support following the Los Angeles wildfires.

News

Ratings Awards

In response to the Los Angeles County wildfires, Direct Relief delivered requested medical supplies on Jan. 14 2025, to local search and rescue teams including Altadena Search and Rescue, Sierra Madre Search and Rescue, and Montrose Search and Rescue. The aid included field medic packs for triage care and rehydration solutions to support first responders on the ground in Los Angeles. (Photo by Mason Poole for Direct Relief)
By Brea Burkholz

Direct Relief has been named the TIME 2025 Dreamer of the Year, honoring the organization’s disaster response and sustained recovery efforts in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires. The Dreamer of the Year distinction, presented by TIME Magazine in collaboration with American Family Insurance, celebrates individuals and organizations who protect, restore, and champion their communities in the face of adversity.

“Direct Relief’s response to the Los Angeles wildfires and its ongoing commitment to community recovery embody what it means to serve with purpose,” said TIME CEO Jessica Sibley. “We are honored to recognize them as the 2025 TIME Dreamer of the Year and to partner with American Family Insurance in celebrating organizations that strengthen resilience for the future.”

Immediately following the fires that swept through Los Angeles beginning January 7, 2025, Direct Relief moved to support the health systems and response agencies most strained by the disaster. In total, Direct Relief has provided $17.7 million in medical and financial support across Los Angeles County since January 7, 2025, reflecting its commitment to both immediate response and long-term community recovery.

This support included critically needed medicines and emergency supplies for healthcare partners serving evacuees, medical resources for first responders operating at regional command centers, and community pick-up points for N95 masks and personal essentials during prolonged smoke conditions. Direct Relief also issued emergency operating funds to first responder agencies addressing urgent needs in the earliest days of the crisis, and continued funding in the months that followed to support rental assistance, trauma-informed mental health services, and operations at community healthcare organizations managing increased demand and infrastructure strain.

“Direct Relief is honored to receive this recognition for our role in supporting communities across Los Angeles before, during, and after the devastating fires last January,” said Amy Weaver, CEO of Direct Relief. “At every stage, our work has been strengthened by the first responders who moved people to safety with only moments to spare, the healthcare providers who cared for everything from acute injuries to chronic conditions, and the many community partners whose commitment has powered this effort. Above all, it reflects the resilience of the people of Los Angeles, who continue to recover and rebuild with steadiness and resolve. Direct Relief is honored to stand with them, ensuring that the needs of the community continue to guide our work for as long as needed.”

Following the initial response phase, Direct Relief expanded its support to long-term stabilization efforts, including behavioral health programming, school-based recovery resources, and continued support for clinics addressing chronic conditions intensified by smoke and displacement. Funding prioritized organizations serving children, older adults, frontline workers, and medically vulnerable residents throughout extended recovery timelines.

In addition to its work in Los Angeles, Direct Relief operates the world’s largest private humanitarian medical aid program, delivering donated medicines, medical supplies, and emergency resources to health facilities in all 50 U.S. states and more than 90 countries. Over the past year, the organization has provided more than $2 billion in medical aid globally, supporting responses to wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, respiratory emergencies, and conflict-related displacement.

Direct Relief has received 100 percent ratings from Charity Navigator for transparency and financial efficiency for 15 consecutive years.

American Family Insurance and TIME’s award-winning branded content division, TIME Studios, created a digital highlight spotlighting Direct Relief and its work here.

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