Post-Fire Assistance From Woodbury Third-Graders

It used to be that, after a fire, the Woodbury Fire Department would refer people to the Red Cross to take care of their basic household needs.

Now, thanks to some third-graders at Woodbury’s , the fire department will be waiting with tubs of toilet paper, shampoo and other items for local families.

Students at the school recently collected items for Tara’s Totes, a Hudson, Wis.-based organization that collects items for families who have endured a house fire.

“It was just a really nice project,” said Capt. Chris Klein of the , who now has four tubs waiting in the Public Safety building. “It’s basic household items to get them back and running.”

A Red Rock student’s family was hit by a , and teacher Laura Loppnow is a neighbor of Tara’s Tubs founder Tara Tuchel.

The school has a “code word” for each month, Loppnow said, and for December it was “compassion.”

Students spent three weeks filling five tubs, four of which went to the Woodbury Fire Department and the fifth going to a St. Paul Fire Department station, Loppnow said. They also included letters in the tubs, mostly expressing their support, but also encouraging those who receive the tubs to “pay it forward,” she said.

“It was unbelievable to see the kids respond to it,” Loppnow said. “And there was the personal connection too: one of my friends went through the same thing."

Three Woodbury firefighters were at the school last week to accept the tubs. Klein said it was impressive to see the students come together to help local families facing a hardship.

“It was great. The look of satisfaction on the students faces when they presented the totes to us was the biggest thing that I remembered,” he said.