Some students don’t have desks or chairs for learning from home. These Gaithersburg parents are stepping up to help. - The Washington Post

James Ortega started the Zoom course from his bed in Gaithersburg and started his seventh grade school year. He said that unless there are not many options, it will be comfortable until it becomes comfortable. He has no table.

He completes his favorite algebra course by balancing the homework of the notebook on the pillow.

But a few days ago, twelve-year-old James and seven-year-old brother Steven were given free desks and chairs so that they could have their own workspace while studying at home.

James of Ridgewood Middle School in Gaithersburg said: "I will have more room to organize my work." "Because then you can write."

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The pandemic forced schools to move online, and students were asked to find ways to study at home-usually on the kitchen table, sofa, bed or even on the floor of the living room. Online learning is challenging for all children, and the lack of dedicated work space makes it more difficult to concentrate and organize.

This is why Jessica and Al Berrellez, who live in Gaithersburg and have three children, have been providing desks and chairs to students in Montgomery County for the past few weekends. the reason. Al Berrellez, who is engaged in sales and consulting in the building materials industry, does some desks in his spare time, and the rest is done or donated by friends and other volunteers.

"Every child should have his own small workstation," Al Berrellez said. "To me, it seems simple, but it will have a major impact on the lives of these children."

Jessica Berrellez said that distance learning only “exacerbates many of the inequalities that students face in the classroom”. They started their project

This will provide a level playing field for students who do not have desks or other office furniture at home. So far, they have organized the delivery of 39 desks with the help of other parent volunteers.

Currently, "Dad's Desk" serves students in three schools near Gaithersburg's home, but the idea of ​​the project is spreading rapidly.

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They are all desks for elementary school students.

The original idea for this project came from Jessica Berrellez, who was scrolling through Facebook throughout the summer and saw friends and neighbors posting the workspace they created at the beginning of the school year. Berrellezes did the same thing with two school-age children, 12-year-old Bella and 6-year-old Gabrielle, who had tables in their rooms.

But because she participated in the parent-teacher association of her child’s school, Jessica Berelez said that she knew there were many other students who did not have enough space or resources to make similar arrangements at home.

She first tried to find a free desk on Facebook Marketplace, but she had no luck. Therefore, she turned to her husband, who is already doing home kitchen renovation. After watching some tutorials on YouTube, he made a prototype desk with glue, screws, simple wood and plywood. Its material cost is about $40, and the manufacturing time is about one hour.

They published the final product on Facebook a month ago, created a page, and launched a fundraising campaign to offset material costs. A few days later, they raised nearly $3,000 and closed the fundraising event because they thought they had enough money to buy construction materials. Now they are trying to collect donated chairs to use with every table they and other volunteers make and deliver to students.

Welcome to the original Desks by Dads page! Desks by Dads is a personal weekend project initiated by Jess & Al Berrellez.

Now, more than 100 students are waiting for their desks. Most requests come from parents, but guidance counselors and teachers also require desks for students. Jessica Berrellez said some teachers even ask for their own desks. Berrellezes said that when the project started to make progress, it was a bit overwhelmed to keep up, but they said it felt good to be able to help.

Jessica Berrellez said: "We are not a non-profit organization." "We are just two fixed people because we care about our children's friends and classmates."

Since their initiative spread widely, friends and neighbors have been voluntarily building, donating or delivering furniture. According to Berrellezes, a family from Landover built two more tables after reading the story about "Dad's Table" on Univision. The couple said they plan to host a community building this weekend, and they hope to make up to 40 desks.

"We really don't have a lot of time. For us, this is just a weekend passion project," said Jessica Berrellez, who worked for the Food and Drug Administration for a week. "But, you know, it's manageable because many people have just stepped up to help."

Other people working on similar projects include Colby Samide,

In Purcellville, Virginia, Colby said he started his own project.

After hearing "Dad's desk" for the first time. With some help, Colby has built 100 desks, and his recent carpentry work in the community

Stacey Ellis, the mother of two children living in Charlotte, learned about Berrellezes’ relationship with "Father’s Table" through a local news report shared on Facebook by her friends Cooperation. Less than two weeks after watching the video, her family mobilized and created their own version of the project called

Assign work areas to students near Charlotte.

Ellis said: "In this environment, you have to bring your inspiration where you can get it."

Two days after launching his own Facebook page for the family project, Ellis said they received requests for about 50 desks from four nearby elementary and middle schools. And the family has raised more than $500 in building materials.

Ellis said: "It's amazing how fast this all comes in, and it overwhelms everything in a wonderful way."

Berrellezes said the need for desks showed them that you didn't know the needs of others in the community until you went out to ask. Jessica Berrellez stated that she hopes the idea will continue to be popular, adding how meaningful it is to get energy from other projects.

She said: "One person helping another person in a small way will not bring about change, but when you have many people doing small things together, there may be power."

James no longer takes classes from bed, and his Zoom stated that he is looking forward to showing his classmates his improved workspace when logging in to the class. The homework was first given to him, but once the algebra was completed, James said he was happy to use the new table for other purposes, such as playing "Fortnite" with his friends.

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