How sweet treats are helping Fox Elementary teachers after the fire

RICHMOND, Va. -- A buffet of sweets and pastries filled tables in the courtyard of First Baptist Church on Friday.

Henrico baker Keya Wingfield saw the aftermath of the Fox Elementary fire and presented the idea for the Parents for Teachers Bake Sale.

“My mom, who's unfortunately passed, was a kindergarten for over 10 years,” Wingfield recalled. “So when I heard about schoolteachers needing supplies, it just struck home for me.”

On Feb. 11, a massive fire destroyed many of the books, supplies and years’ worth of collections gathered by Fox teachers.

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Alex Hamp serves as the director of First Baptist Preschool and helped facilitate the bake sale to Monument Avenue.

“Our parents at First Baptist wanted to help the Fox families and the Fox teachers,” Hamp said.

100 percent of proceeds from Friday’s sale will benefit Fox educators and the PTA.

“It’s going directly to the teachers and helping them rebuild their classrooms,” Hamp described. “It’s hard to start from nothing and be ready to welcome the children back on the 21st of March. As much as we can do to make it easier for them.”

Hamp knows the sacrifice teachers make firsthand. She served as the Kindergarten teacher at Fox Elementary from 1994 until 2003. In fact, her first teaching job out of college was at Fox.

“There’s always that spirit of Fox,” she explained. “It’s still in me and I left in 2003, but there’s something special about it. It’s magical and it still lives on.”

First Baptist Church will serve as the temporary home for Fox Elementary until renovations at Clark Springs Elementary School are complete.

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