‘Stations for Students’ gives free desks for at-home learning

     With some local schools forced to resort to virtual (online) learning due to high numbers of COVID-19 cases in Jones County, it became apparent that many families don’t have adequate spaces for their children to learn at home.

     The Jones County Family Council took note of the situation and wanted to do something about it. That’s where “Stations for Students” was born.

     “I know a lot of families and students were not prepared for virtual learning and students didn’t have their own place to do virtual learning or homework when they weren’t virtual learning,” noted Heather Weers with the Family Council.

     Initially they thought about applying for a grant and building desks for students who didn’t have one at home.

     “I thought it would help families out if we could provide desks for students, one less thing they would to worry about,” continued Weers.

     After hearing that the Monticello School District had plans to sell old desks and chairs from inside the former middle school, the Family Council had a new idea.

     “We approached the school district to see if we could partner with them to get the desks out to families in Jones County that wanted them,” said Weers.

     In effort to support the MCSD, a donation was made for the desks. The Family Council sent out an application to the school counselors in Jones County to see where desks/chairs were in need.

     “There were no requirements, and anyone who filled out an application received a desk,” Weers said.

     As applications came in, volunteers assisted the Family Council in its deliveries. The first day the application was available to the public was on a Wednesday. Two days later on a Friday, they had over 100 applicants.

     A group of nine wonderful volunteers delivered over 100 desks that Saturday,” praised Weers.

     To keep the process safe for all, the desks and chairs were delivered contact-free. Jones County Grade Level Reading (GLR)/Every Child Reads also donated age-appropriate books to the kids as well.

     Following the Saturday delivery date, Weers and Sherri Hunt, also a member of Family Council, have been delivering three or four desks at a time.

     To date, 187 desks have been delivered throughout Jones County.

     “The number of applications was overwhelming to start out,” Weers said of the interest. “We weren’t sure how many we would receive. Receiving so many so quickly showed the need was there.”

     As students return to in-person learning, many families are still choosing to keep their kids home. Some schools are also dedicating one day a week to online learning as well.

     Weers credits Clarence Goedken (Hunt’s father) for his assistance with Stations for Students. As an employee of the MCSD, Goedken helped round up all of the desks and chairs the Family Council needed.

     “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without his help,” she praised.

     The mission of the Jones County Family Council is to prevent child abuse. They work to take the stress off of families and help out in any way possible.

     GLR’s goal is to get books into the hands of students in Jones County. Stations for Students was also another way to accomplish this goal.

     “We thought this was a great project to partner with,” noted Weers, who is also the GLR coordinator for Jones County.

     Since the desks, chairs and books were delivered, Weers said she received such positive comments from families who were all very appreciative. Some of those responses included: “Awesome! Thank you so much! This will help tremendously!” “Oh my, that is fantastic! Thank you all for this!” “Thank you very much for the desks and chairs! We really appreciate it so much!” “Thank you. The kids think they are so cool now.”