From Wildfire Recovery to Revival: Wescom Financial Commits to Eliminate $10 Million in Debt for SoCal Residents with ForgiveCo

UCLA Women's Basketball Coach Cori Close and Wescom Foundation Lend Efforts to Wescom Financial and ForgiveCo's Debt Relief Initiative

PASADENA, Calif., Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Wescom Financial, a leading member-owned financial institution serving over 250,000 individuals in Southern and Central California, is joining forces with ForgiveCo to erase $10 million in consumer debt for Californians residing in areas that were most heavily impacted by the Southern California wildfires that took place in earlier this year.

With a focused effort in the Altadena and Pacific Palisades neighborhoods, this debt relief campaign will provide the first $5 million in financial relief to more than 2,000 residents. This effort is part of a multi-year commitment, with future impact moments set to come.

The initiative is executed through ForgiveCo's random acts of kindness model and Wescom Foundation's grantmaking capabilities, working together to provide unexpected aid to those most affected by the wildfires and relieving them of financial burdens. Importantly, recipients of the debt relief do not need to be Wescom members as the effort reflects an inclusive approach to recovery, rooted in shared values and regional resilience. Residents will receive letters, emails, and text messages in the following weeks, informing them of their debt relief.

UCLA Women's Basketball Head Coach Cori Close, the reigning National Coach of the Year, who led her team to the Final Four in 2025, joins in on the effort as a long-time Wescom Financial partner and member. Coach Close will support Wescom's relief efforts throughout the 2025-26 UCLA Women's Basketball season, lending her voice through content creation and welcoming select beneficiaries to home games with her program.

"At Wescom Financial, our mission is to help build better lives for Californians. The recent Palisades/Eaton Canyon wildfires in Southern California deeply affected our community. Our office headquarters are located in an affected area, and many of our members and team members live and work here," said Darren Williams, President and CEO at Wescom. "That's why the Wescom Foundation (our charitable arm) has partnered with ForgiveCo to help support $10 million in debt relief for those living in the impacted areas."

"Even while dealing with the fires and all the terrible destruction, the people of Southern California still supported our team relentlessly throughout last season. It's our turn to reciprocate that support and uplift our people and community," said Cori Close, UCLA Women's Basketball Head Coach, California Resident. "As a coach and leader, I can promise that our team is always committed to making the people of Southern California feel proud, but this season is definitely a little more special to us knowing whom we are playing for."

"Debt is an extremely heavy burden on its own but combining that with the need to recover from a natural disaster can make it all seem insurmountable," said Craig Antico, CEO at ForgiveCo. "Wescom's commitment and dedication to relieving some of that pressure will be carried through to not just the people that receive debt relief now, but through future generations that succeed them."

Wescom's disaster relief efforts span donation drives and emergency financial relief solutions for victims of the 2022 Southern California Wildfires, 2023 Maui Wildfires, Hurricane Helene, and 2025 Southern California Wildfires. The Wescom Foundation provides grants to nonprofits that work to support relief and recovery efforts for victims of natural disasters and has invested $7.4 million to improve the lives of Californians since its founding in 1999.

About Wescom Financial
For more than 90 years, Wescom Financial has been dedicated to building better lives for Californians through a full array of banking products and services, including insurance and investment solutions. Wescom also offers accessible financial education, top-rated digital banking tools, lower loan rates and fees, and higher savings yields. Today, with 30 branches between Southern and Central California, Wescom serves more than a quarter million individuals. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, Wescom is proud to be named one of "America's Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions" by Newsweek in 2024 and 2025. The Wescom Foundation, its charitable arm, supports community-based organizations through strategic grantmaking and community engagement. Wescom is federally insured by NCUA and is an Equal Housing Opportunity Lender. For more information, please visit wescom.org.

About ForgiveCo
ForgiveCo provides business advisory services to corporations for acquisition, administration, and cancellation of consumer debt, alongside advisory services in branding, goodwill creation, and bulk debt management – "Transforming debt into goodwill™." They amplify a brand's equity by erasing billions of dollars of debt for millions of people, activating community and hope in individuals. To learn more, please visit: forgiveco.com.

Media Contact:
Michael Pernal
Gray Wolf for Wescom
[email protected] 

SOURCE Wescom Financial