Willow Woods lost nearly all toys & books due to smoke damage from Westport Presbyterian Church fire

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Smoke damage at Willow Woods has forced the school to throw away 95 percent of its books, toys, cribs, diapers and school material.

The school is just feet away from the Westport Presbyterian Church, which caught fire last Thursday.   The school did not suffer any fire damage, but a lot of the things inside are covered in soot, says school officials.

Restoration crews said they've been working 15-hour days since throughout the holiday weekend.  The are cleaning off all the things that can be saved and throwing away everything else.

"Every little kid has that thing that they love, whether its their ExerSaucer, or a favorite book, or a favorite toy and they wont have that," Willow Woods parent Erin Nemenoff said.

Pre-Kindergarten teacher Kaitlin Symsek said with few materials, she will have to get creative.

"It's going to be tough for a little while, trying to figure out where we need to go from here, and what we need exactly," Symsek said.

The school is a non-profit organization, and school officials say they do not have a lot of money to spare.  They are asking the community for cash donations, which can be made at the Willow Woods website.

The school is expected to re-open by Thursday.