Community response ‘overwhelming’ for Surrey school affected by fire
Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, March 18, 2026
A Surrey elementary school principal says the response from the community has been overwhelming after a Jan. 30 fire displaced most of the school’s students and staff.
In the weeks following a fire at Woodland Park Elementary, an outpouring of community support is helping the school’s denizens move forward.
“It has been very challenging, but it has been a time for the community to come together,” said Woodland Park principal Lisa Chambers.
Chambers shared that support has come from across Surrey and beyond, with schools, local organizations and community members stepping up to help.
“Our community has shown incredible strength and resilience at a very challenging time for us,” Chambers said.
She shared that many donations have been made, including items such as indoor shoes for primary students, emergency supplies from RONA, and even ukuleles so music classes can continue while equipment is being replaced.
Chambers also noted Surrey Fire Service firefighters contributed $10,000 to help, with Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke donating an additional $5,000.
Local schools have provided learning materials and library books, while the district came together to assemble large emergency supply packages for teachers, which include art supplies and hands-on learning resources.
“We’ve been very grateful for the wraparound support that we’ve been receiving,” shared Chambers.
Although she is thankful for how quickly the Surrey school district were able to reopen parts of Woodland Park and come up with a working plan for other students elsewhere in the school community — such as attending Regent Road Elementary — Chambers says returning fully will still be difficult.
“I know initially it’s going to be really hard going back into the building because we’ve lost everything,” she shared. “We’ve had a lot of items that were donated so that we can get by and at least provide some resemblance of normalcy for our students.”
A key player in helping to support the school came through the Singh Foundation, which led a donation matching campaign alongside Surrey Schools for Woodland Park Elementary.
The foundation pledged to match donations up to $35,000 to help replace critical technology lost in the fire.
“This is over and above anything of our wildest dreams,” said Chambers.
Singh Foundation president and CEO Bob Singh said the initiative reflects the organization’s goal of supporting youth in the community.
Founded in 2022, the Singh Foundation works with the Surrey school district to identify students in need. Since beginning this partnership, the foundation has donated $42,000 each year to Surrey schools.
The district reached out to the foundation and identified the technology gap at Woodland Park following the fire.
“Our idea was that we can raise some money and put some funds back into the hands of kids who really need it,” Singh said.
Singh’s foundation agreed in getting involved with Woodland Park, and committed about $15,000 in equipment before expanding support through the matching campaign.
“They said, ‘We have this technology challenge at Woodland Park after the fire and we need to get some equipment — iPads and things,’” Singh shared.
For Singh, the effort is also personal.
“I was once the fastest kid in school but I couldn’t afford proper shoes,” he said. “I’ve seen the other side of it — what it’s like to not have.”
Singh reiterated to Peace Arch News that the Singh Foundation’s support in any aspect is not about them, but about the students and how they can help them succeed.
The fundraiser wrapped Tuesday (March 17) and Chambers noted the impact of the Singh Foundation’s support will be felt across the school community.