Woodworker Makes 35 Desks For Local Kids Who Are Learning From Home

Mitch Couch, a woodworker, has been making desks for children in his community in need due to virtual learning

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of children have started the 2020-2021 academic school year virtually. While distance learning is difficult for nearly everyone, there are certain people who are struggling with it more than others due to lack of access to the things that make remote learning possible. Some families can’t afford the internet and some lack the space for kids to have an appropriate set-up for learning. Luckily, there are amazing people and generous people trying to ease the financial burden and help some of these children, including Mitch Couch, a woodworker who has been spending his free time constructing desks for children in his community.

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Couch shared a photo of his project on Reddit last week, and the post quickly went viral. “I made 35 desks for students in my area who are home due to distance learning,” he captioned it.

Here’s the backstory: On September 3 he shared a photo on Instagram of a desk he constructed for his own children, revealing that it was not only easy but inexpensive to make.

“Good morning family and friends. I know many of our little ones are still home doing distant learning. Our two kids were taking up space at the kitchen table making it a hassle when it came time for meals. So I made them their own little desks,” he wrote. “The cool thing is they can store their items in it after they are done and it can be folded away later to take up less space. If you want to try your hand at making your own, check out my etsy page, they are immediate downloads for 99 cents. I made this one for around $35. Have a great day,” he concluded sharing a link to his page.

Soon after, local business owners contacted him, asking if he could make some desks for them to be donated to local schools. “I didn’t hesitate to help them out,” he wrote in an additional Instagram post.

“They asked for 25 desks to start but the need was great so we upped it to 35!!! My wonderful wife helped me through the whole thing and even surprised me with four desks she made while I was at work. The owners wanted to keep it low key but I just have to let others know how much local business means to a community like ours. Thank you Karin and David for being wonderful people,” he concluded.

He explains to Scary Mommy that he is still in the process of finishing up the batch of desks.

“I have 8 more [desks] to make and will be done with those by tomorrow,” he said. “They are all called for since the demand for them is so high. I really think I could make a hundred of them and that still might not be enough.”

Couch once again shouted out Grocery Outlet in Lemoore, CA for their generosity that helped get his project off the ground. “I’m very grateful to Grocery Outlet, a local store, for the donation of materials and for setting up the placement of desks. They were great to work with.”

If you are interested in creating one of Couch’s desks yourself, he is offering instructions on his website. Alternatively, if you would like to donate to the cause, his Venmo is mitchell-couch.