New Wings For Butterfly Meadow Preschool After Fire

LEVITTOWN, NY —A mural of butterflies painted on a wall below Good Shepherd Church was one of the major fixtures that survived a devastating Christmas Day fire, along with a betta fish that was fortuitously taken home by a teacher for the holidays. But, mostly everything else was damaged by the water firefighters used to extinguish flames that erupted on the roof.

“It was like a river flowing down,” said Marcella Lo Re, the school’s owner and executive director, who was alerted to the fire by the parent of a student and saw its aftermath. The water caved in sheetrock where the school was housed and its wooden furniture and desks were ruined beyond repair because they were considered health hazards for being porous and able to attract and grow mold, she said.

Lo Re said she also lost a rug in the fire, as well as over 100 children's books and various toys used by her 24 students. Since the fire, community members have come forward with donations of books and she now has four tote bags full, she said.

Staples also donated pens, crayons, markers, folders, sanitizers and the the local Girl Scouts of America Brownie Troop 3035 and Juniors Troop 3025 collected toys for the school’s children, Lo Re said. Other contributors included the Boy Scouts of America, Island Trees School District, the Levittown Soccer Team, the Good Shepherd Church and Butterfly Meadow Preschool community, and the Levittown Moms Facebook page.

Lo Re also almost immediately found a temporary space for the school at the Knights of Columbus of Levittown where she and her five teachers can operate sessions until at least July.

There was, however, a silver lining to that cloud that broke through the school’s rainbow. From the very day of the fire on, the Levittown community came forward offering assistance immediately, some by collecting funds, others with just kind words.

“People have been so loving and supportive it has brought me to tears,” she said.

Lo Re said the school will take the month of August off as it does each year and she plans to be moving back into her old space at Good Shepherd Church just in time for the start of the school year in September. She is currently collecting funds to purchase items that were lost in the fire and she expects a fundraiser to be organized sometime this spring, but in the meantime, she can be contacted through the school’s Facebook page by anyone wishing to make a PayPal donation.