Iowa Teacher Is Building Thousands of Desks After Seeing Lack of Kids Work Stations at Home

After noticing that many students doing at home learning are without a designated space to do so, a teacher from Ankeny decided it was his mission to build one for them.

Nate Evans organized Woodworking with a Purpose, a group of over a dozen volunteers have already made over 600 desks since the end of September. They've set a goal to make 2,020 by the end of the school year, meaning they need to raise an additional $30,000 in materials.

"The very first day I made up my mind to do this, I went to the store with about $300 to spend," Evans said, who mentioned that he posted on Facebook asking if anyone would like to donate money or materials. "I spent about $300 and when I checked my Venmo that day, that's almost exactly what I had collected that day. It was just meant to be."

Evans said not long after that, volunteers kept coming to help, and Core Foundation became Woodworking with a Purpose a fiscal sponsor, making any donations tax deductible. Through Core Foundation, they've had a few corporations make donations.

"We're just trying to help. A lot of the people who have made donations--they may not be woodworkers or they may not be craftsmen, but they want to help somehow. So they chipped in that way," said Evans.

The majority of desks made have gone to students and schools in Ankeny and Des Moines. Lately, desks have been making their way to students in Southeast Polk District and in Ames.

"I knew that if kids here in town needed stuff, I knew that that there would be kids all over the county that would need it, too," explained Evans.

Evans expanded the project by holding a community build day last weekend, where they had a goal of 100 desks.

If you're interested in making a donation, you can head to their website.

Read more at KCCI