GoFundMe for NYC girl, 6, killed in house fire raises nearly $500K as dad’s employer offers to cover funeral costs
NY Post
The local community of a 6-year-old Staten Island girl killed in a house fire on New Year’s Day is coming together to support her family amid the tragic loss — raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Little Rory DeCristoforo died in the blaze that began in a bedroom on the second floor of her family’s two-story home in the Castleton Corners neighborhood shortly after 5:30 p.m.
Community members and strangers heartbroken by her death raised more than $500,000 for the grieving family by the end of Tuesday — with dozens of people contributing $1,000 or more in single donations. A generous few even offered $5,000.
Several of the donations came from local businesses and youth sports teams and leagues, like the Snug Harbor Little League and Next Level Sports.
Rory’s father Mark DeCristoforo is well-known across the island for his work as the athletic director and head football coach at St. Peter’s Boys High School, where he also works as a math teacher.
The grade-schooler — described as a “dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty with a playful, loving spirit” in a GoFundMe campaign — was the youngest of Mark and Meg DeCristoforo’s four children.
