Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
It wasn’t exactly Santa’s sleigh, but it was not far off.
The 18-foot flatbed trailer that arrived Wednesday afternoon at the Mesa Verde Community Center came bearing gifts – handcrafted wooden desks – for children inside.
Members of the Albuquerque Woodworkers Association spent the past week building 45 new desks for students forced into remote schooling due to COVID-19. Staff at the city’s community centers helped identify families who could use furniture for their learn-from-home setups, and several Albuquerque city councilors put some of their discretionary money toward buying the supplies.
“This is a hobby of ours … but it feels good when we can help the community,” said Diane Galbraith, president of the Albuquerque Woodworkers Association.
Councilor Pat Davis, whose district includes the Mesa Verde Community Center, said it is meaningful for kids to have a designated, personal space to do schoolwork during an otherwise unsettled time.
“It seems like a small gesture, but for a kid who’s trying to make learning as normal as possible, this can be a big deal,” he said.
Davis and fellow Councilors Isaac Benton, Don Harris and Lan Sena contributed a combined $3,800 to cover the raw materials used for the desks.
Other community centers distributing the desks include West Mesa, Cesar Chavez, Herman Sanchez, Jack Candelaria and Singing Arrow. Ten of the desks will also go to the city’s West Side homeless shelter.
John Henderson was among the five craftsmen who convened last week at a woodshop in Belen to build the desks. He said a national TV news story about a similar desk donation had inspired the local effort.
Henderson said the group came up with the design themselves, and built them to last.
“It will hold your weight times two,” he told a Journal reporter.
Davis marveled at the construction before Wednesday’s distribution.
“These are not Ikea,” he said. “These are made with love.”
