The local community of a 6-year-old Staten Island girl who died in a house fire on New Year's Day is banding together and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to support her family during their tragic loss.
Rory DeCristoforo died in the fire that broke out in the second-floor bedroom of her family's two-story home in the Castleton Corners neighborhood just after 5:30 p.m.
Heartbroken by her death, community members and strangers had raised more than $500,000 for the grieving family by the end of Tuesday, with dozens of people donating more than $1,000 at a time. Some were generous enough to give $5,000.
Some of the donations came from local businesses and youth sports teams and leagues, including Snug Harbor Little League and Next Level Sports.
Rory's father, Mark DeCristoforo, is well known throughout the island for his work as the athletic director and football coach at St. Peter's Boys High School, where he also works as a math teacher.
The elementary school student, described in a GoFundMe campaign as a “black-haired, blue-eyed beauty with a playful and loving spirit,” was the youngest of Mark and Meg DeCristoforo's four children. .
“The feisty baby of the family. She looked up to her three older siblings, Cali, Bubba and Shane, and stole a piece of their hearts,” fundraiser organizer Robert Chee wrote. ing.
Mark's employer, high school, and the United Parish of Our Lady of Good Counsel, St. Peter and St. Paul Church. Paul and Assumption also became more proactive, offering to pay for the funeral and burial costs for Rory, president of St. Peter's Church John Fodera. He told the Staten Island Advance.
“I don't understand how parents deal with something like this. It's unimaginable,” Fodera told a local newspaper.
He also said the school will be providing catered meals to families for several weeks.
“I told Mark that no matter what he needed or wanted, the St. Peter's community would be there for him,” Fodera said.
The school principal hired the father of four, first as a math teacher and then as a varsity football coach, where he grew over the years both in the classroom and on the field, inspiring kids. and has continued to do so for the past 10 years. The Advance newspaper reported.
“He has played so many roles at St. Peter's, and in each of them he has had a real impact on the school and the children,” Fodera told the magazine. “Kids flock around him and appreciate everything he represents. He's someone who commands respect the moment he speaks.”
According to Mark's boss, the family lost their home in the fire and is unable to live there, so they are currently staying with relatives.
The DeChristoforos had recently moved into the house to help care for Mark's elderly parents. Fodera said the building is being renovated to accommodate a large family permanently.
Less than two months later, the family lost another loved one. Mark's mother Jane passed away on November 11th at the age of 80, the Advance reported.
The FDNY is investigating the cause of the fatal fire.
Neighbors told the New York Daily News that they saw firefighters break through a window to get into Rory's room and carry her out of the burning building on a ladder.
“They put her in the ambulance and were treating her. Then they took her away,” Rick Benevento, 78, told the magazine.
He also saw her father suffering while the smoke eaters worked to put out the fire.
“Mark took off his shoes and came out in shorts. He was face down on the ground. Then he was on my lawn, just devastated,” he said.
There were no other injuries in the fire.
