Americans across the country build desks for students learning from home

After school moved online due to COVID-19, Americans across the country stepped up to help bring a bit of the classroom into student’s homes by building desks for them to work on.

Marcus Holley, a father of three in Omaha, Nebraska, decided to build his own desks after he realized that they were sold out across his town. Holley said he taught himself how to build the desk from scratch and realized he could give them away to others who needed them, too.

“I’m like, ‘Maybe somebody else can use these. I can build them,’” said Holley, who has now built and hand delivered 150 homemade desks throughout the city.

Les Ruefencht, a grandfather who lives outside of San Francisco, said a “World News Tonight” story inspired him to start building desks.

“My wife said to me, ‘You can build anything, you should do this,’” Ruefenacht told KGO

He has since built 30 desks and there are 50 more under construction, all of which will go to students in the Bay Area.

Ruefenacht told “World News Tonight” that he has enough materials to make 100 more desks and that he’s raised more than $12,000 to make more.

His desks were delivered to students like Yaswin Swingler, a third-year student at Clayton Valley Charter High School, who said she was thankful for the gift.

“He’s going to help lots of people by doing this … and I’m very grateful for that. Thank you, Les,” said Swingler.

Al Thompson, of Toledo, Ohio, said that he’d do anything to make it easier for the hardworking students and teachers.

“I've been thinking quite a bit about teachers and students and their parents, and what they’ve been going through these past months because of the pandemic,” he said. “So I decided to build some of these desks for young students.”