$30G raised so far for displaced OLA teachers
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP » Preston Tyrrell does not teach at Our Lady of Angels Regional Catholic School, and his children do not attend the school. He doesn’t even live in the immediate neighborhood of the school or its church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
He is, however, a teacher, and one who couldn’t stand by and watch as OLA teachers lost their supplies and memories in the threealarm fire that destroyed an entire wing of the school late Wednesday night into early Thursday last week.
“I know what goes into making the four walls into a classroom,” said Tyrrell on Monday. “I know if I had to start re-building my classroom it would cost me a great deal.”
As the flames subsided and hot spots dotted the site of OLA Thursday morning, Tyrrell reached out to hundreds of teachers of an email group with an idea to start some kind of fundraiser for the teachers to have a fund for their outof-pocket expenses for supplies to help with teaching for the upcoming year.
“And I said I’m not the guy to do this. If anybody else wants to set it up I’ll make the first donation,” he said. He then took a walk around his Radnor neighborhood and heard a voice in the back of his head saying he needed to do start the fundraising. Tyrrell cut his walk short and went home to set up a GoFundMe page.
“My thought process was strike while the iron’s hot. If you waited for something to get organized it would have been two days later. You would have missed out on emotional support that people were in need,” said
By Kevin Tustin ktustin@21st-centurymedia.com @KevinTustin on Twitter
Tyrrell
Initially, he had a goal of $9,000, which was quickly bumped to $15,000. After seven hours there was $7,5000 raised. Come Monday, the total reached $30,000 from 500 donors and it continues growing.
“I was not expecting this. It took off rapidly and it was overwhelming,” he said about the success of the campaign.
Tyrrell said he wanted to raise at least $500 per teacher who was displaced by the fire. Teachers and the 400-member student body of OLA will be temporarily housed in Cardinal O’Hara Catholic High School for the next school year.
A lot of donors were teachers who were chipping in to help their colleagues in a dire state of need.
“Many things in my classroom didn’t cost much, they’ve been hobbled together over the years,” said Tyrrell who as a former archdiocesan teacher knows about paying out of pocket for his supplies. “To try to re-do that in a month’s time is impossible. (It’s) giving them money for what they need to do to get them back together.”
As the donations keep pouring in, Tyrrell is expecting to hand over the account to OLA administrators and teachers after a very successful four-day campaign so far.
Principal Sue Lowe could not be reached for comment Monday.
Tyrrell wants the OLA faculty to know that all teachers are there to support them at this time.
“(There is) the outpouring of financial donations … but to let them know we’re here and we’re one group of teachers. We know what’s it’s like to turn four walls into a classroom.”
To donate to the fund visit go to gofundme.com/ OLA-Teachers.