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ROCHESTER — When Listos Preschool and Childcare Director Christina Valdez received a call last month that the church housing the dual-language program was damaged in a fire she didn’t know just how bad it truly was.
Even nearly a month after the fire, Valdez learns more about how significant the repair work will be to rebuild the portion of Peace United Church where the preschool was situated.
Rochester firefighters were called to Peace United Church of Christ , 1503 Second Ave. NE, in the early morning hours of April 18, 2022, in response to a fire alarm. A fire, determined to be arson, caused an estimated $2.5 million in damage.
While services were held that Sunday at the church, Listos had to wait a little longer to welcome families back into its new, temporary location at Mount Olive Church. The church was previously home to Family Circle Learning Center, which closed on April 22, 2022. The child care center left its equipment for Listos to use.
“If this site hadn’t been available and so welcoming and so helpful and having the supplies here, there would be no Listos,” Valdez said. “That is the scary thing to think about.The fire, yes, it’s bad. You just have to not think about it. You don’t know why.
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“Having all the people come together and still be a community and still helping each other has been really good. We’re a small group and so when something like that happens, everybody really steps up, that is nice”
In the days following the fire, Valdez and staff had to deal with the bureaucratic side of opening a childcare center, despite being licensed and moving into an already licensed site. That meant inspections by various agencies and rewriting of policies.
Initial monetary donations also allowed teachers to purchase a special item for each child.
As Listos welcomed families in for a tour of the space before reopening, Valdez said it was exhausting and exhilarating.
“We felt grateful we had this chance to still be together,” she said.
Those interested in supporting Listos can find a donation page on its website at www.listoskids.org/donate.
