San Diego man donating $1 million to Paradise High School students and staff


Bob Wilson remembers his high school years fondly, and after hearing about the devastating Camp Fire in Northern California, he couldn't stop thinking about the sorrow felt by the students and staff members at Paradise High School.
The fire destroyed most of the town of Paradise, killing at least 85 people and displacing thousands. Wilson, 89, felt terrible for everyone affected, but particularly for the teenagers missing out on the quintessential high school experience. The San Diego resident wanted to "raise their spirits," and decided to do something special for all 980 students and 105 staff members at Paradise High School.
Wilson is writing every single student and staff member a check for $1,000. He told NBC 7 they can spend the money on whatever they want, and he hopes this encourages others to give, too. Wilson plans on going to Paradise and distributing the checks on Tuesday. "If I can just raise their spirits, I don't want anything more than that," he said.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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