RIDGEWOOD — As soon as Sophie Weremczuk learned of a devastating fire in her Ridgewood neighborhood, she knew that she wanted to help the victims.
The Jan. 6 blaze tore through three apartment buildings and displaced 26 families.
“I wanted to get involved because I think about if I were in their shoes, how would I feel?” said Sophie, a sixth-grade student at Notre Dame Catholic Academy. “One minute they’re a happy family around the table, and the next minute, they’re running for their lives.”
Sophie is one of several Notre Dame students pitching in to help the displaced families by gathering food, clothing, and emergency supplies under the direction of Assistant Principal Lisa Leistman, who spearheaded the academy’s relief effort.
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The school is about 10 minutes away from 1824 Madison Street, where the five-alarm fire erupted during the early morning hours of Jan. 6 before quickly spreading to adjoining buildings. It took 220 firefighters seven hours to bring it under control, according to the FDNY. Five firefighters and one civilian were injured. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
When the smoke cleared, 26 families, including six children, were displaced and needed help. The Red Cross set up an emergency center and booked rooms at nearby hotels to offer temporary housing to victims.
The close-knit Ridgewood community came to the rescue, with residents and business owners starting donation drives and setting up 10 drop-off sites. Notre Dame Catholic Academy was part of that effort.
As soon as she heard about the fire, Leistman sent a text message to Principal Judy Munno suggesting a school-wide donation drive. They decided to involve the students, and the kids were more than willing to pitch in.
Sophie and others, like sixth grader Hanna Stsepaniuk, visited each class — from kindergarten to eighth grade — and asked their peers to bring donations, such as food, clothing, and toiletries, to school. Teachers also made donations.
Hanna said she wanted to take part in the effort out of concern for the victims, and to stay true to her Catholic faith.
“We’re all God’s children, and I think we should follow God’s word,” she said.
The response was rapid, with people bringing dozens of shopping bags filled with everything from blankets to diapers to T-shirts to the school gym a day after the fire. Leistman contacted one of the drop-off sites and arranged for transportation. She said they filled up two SUVs and a minivan with donations and noted that she expects to drop off another three carloads of donations by Jan. 16.
Leistman said the decision to organize a relief effort was easy.
“When I see something like this happen, I want to get in there and help,” she said. “I think it has to do with my strong connection to my Catholic faith and wanting to do acts of service, and I want to be a good role model for the student body.
“We got such a great response from them.”
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Munno said she believes the students learned something valuable by taking part in the effort to support families impacted by the fire.
“I think they learned the importance of service and giving to those less fortunate,” she said. “They truly feel empathy for these families.”
