Boulder Valley School District: School Community Bands Together To Care For Their Neighbors Following Marshall Fire

Press release from the Boulder Valley School District:

January 30, 2022

Late into the evening of Dec. 30, the evacuated families of Coal Creek Elementary wearily waited for news.

“Everyone was in shock. We couldn’t believe it was happening,” said Coal Creek Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) President Molly Trappe.

In those early hours, as the wildfire continued to rage, everyone was waiting for information about their homes and their community.

“There were so many rumors,” Trappe said. “They were saying that the rec center was gone, the police station.”

Thankfully, those rumors turned out to be false, but in all more than 1,000 families lost homes in the tragedy.

That night, while everyone collectively watched blocks of houses on fire on television, Trappe says many people were asking whether Coal Creek Elementary was still standing.

“Everyone that night was concerned about the school. We didn’t know [if it survived],” Trappe said. “It was a relief that night when someone posted a picture from a Ring camera, saying that the school is still there.”

After going through so much during the pandemic, Trappe says losing the school would have been too much.

“The thought of having the school be gone – it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about that,” Trappe said. “Our kids so desperately need this safe haven and routine and structure that comes with school and the familiarity that comes with teachers and staff and their friends.”

Less than one week later, that is exactly what the school offered its families, including 43 that lost their homes in the fire. It wasn’t just the resumption of classes and warm hugs from the school’s educators that made a difference – it was also the support from the community.

“The outpouring has been incredible,” Trappe said. “We are rallying together. We have a strong community at the school and we are all just helping each other out and helping the families. It is not just the families where the houses are burnt down, it is the families that are still displaced that are still living in a hotel. They will eventually get home – maybe next week, maybe in a couple months.”

In only a few days, with the help of school administration, Coal Creek Elementary’s PTA was able to open a market, out of storage units in the parking lot, where those who lost everything could get the essentials.

“This has not been a small effort,” said Coal Creek PTA Vice President of Finance Katie French. “We have had a really good volunteer group. Everyone wanted to help.”

Using her natural knack for organization, French worked to bring some organization to the effort, helping to assess the needs of the impacted families and coordinating the many offers of support. It has certainly been an evolving effort.

“The first few days after we set this up, when we asked families, ‘what do you need?’ it was hard for them to know. You need everything and a lot of them were in hotels or displaced. So they’d come and grab one pair of boots, because there was snow on the ground and they needed boots at that moment for their kids,” Trappe explained. “Now that we are a couple weeks into this, the shell shock is kind of wearing off and now they are coming in with lists. ‘I only have two pairs of pants, I need pants.’ Getting more shoes, getting more blankets, getting stuffed animals for their kids and walking away with bins full of items they need to start to rebuild.”

“I’m thankful and glad that we can have a small part in helping to start that process and helping to get the basic essentials met,” Trappe added.

The parent-volunteers were instrumental in securing donations from companies like Vans and Crocs and had enough supplies to not only care for its school community, but to also serve families from other impacted schools.

The community also banded together to help replace holiday gifts lost in the fire and to provide gift cards to help meet their immediate needs. Meanwhile, a local nonprofit has been helping to provide meals for the impacted families.

“Conscious Alliance has been amazing,” Trappe said. “They are making sure that everyone is getting the food that they need. It is one of the biggest things that we have heard from families - they are trying to figure out what to make for dinner or how to have dinner. Having that part taken care of is such a weight lifted off parents’ shoulders.”

LEARN MORE: Conscious Alliance

Recognizing that it will likely take several years for most families to rebuild, the PTA is now considering how their efforts can change to meet the families’ needs six months and further into the future.

“We are going to reevaluate today and see where this can go,” French said.

This is a marathon, but we are all in it together. We will get through it together,” Trappe said confidently. “It is a long haul, but with the district and all of our parents and the love for Louisville, we will be okay.”

This press release was produced by the Boulder Valley School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.