DreamBuilders Portable Desk Project

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, DreamBuilders pivoted from construction projects to building folding desks for school children. Given that upcoming semesters will be done virtually, the need for a dedicated workspace is even greater. Many of these students live in close quarters with several other family members. Sometimes the entire family lives in a single room.

DreamBuilders designed the desk, developed a manufacturing process and recruited volunteers to build desks. The first “production run” was held on August 1 and 8, resulting in 118 folding desks. DreamBuilders is in the process of distributing these desks through our local public schools.

We obtained phenomenal local press coverage for our project (see links below) which led to Good Morning America discovering us. After our segment aired on GMA, we have received many requests from across the country. Apparently we identified a critical need.

If you are:

  1. Interested in building a desk yourself or organizing a build of desks for your local community, please register below.
  2. Interested in volunteering on one of our upcoming manufacturing days. The Registration links will be added when dates are finalized.

We have also received a large number of requests for desks. The need in our area is great and we are only able to manufacture and distribute the desks we build to our local Maryland school system. If you live in Maryland, contact your school. If you are outside of Maryland, we recommend you contact a local non-profit that might be able to organize a local build in your area.

DreamBuilders is an Outreach Ministry of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church located at 12700 Hall Shop Road, Highland MD 20777, a non-profit organization as designated by the United States Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). 


UPCOMING PORTABLE DESK BUILD OPPORTUNITIES:

Please note that due to unforeseen reasons, it may be necessary to postpone a volunteer build date, please keep posted on our Facebook account and in your email inbox for immediate details. We appreciate those volunteers that are flexible and can volunteer on the newly scheduled volunteer dates.


DreamBuilders’ Portable Desk Construction Guide Details

WARNING: These desks require technical skills to construct.

We recommend identifying a local organization that would be interested in hosting their own “Construct a DreamBuilders Portable Desk Event” for building desks for local students.

If you are an individual and possess the necessary skills to build your own desk, please complete the guide request below to receive your DreamBuilders Portable Desk Construction and Implementation Guide:

DreamBuilders’ Portable Desk Construction and Implementation Guide Request:

Please let us know if you plan to construct many desks (as for a group of students) or if you plan to build the desk for an individual student or family member.
Please provide the name of your organization if your intent is to build multiple desks.
Please estimate how many desks you will build from this construction and implementation guide
If you plan to host a portable desk build event, please provide us with tentative build date, methods to distribute the desks and who will receive the desks that are built.

Agreement

By signing below, you are certifying that product and specifications are designed and intended for strictly charitable purposes to support those in need. By using these design instructions, you agree to do so for charitable purposes only. The design documents as well as the desks produced using these plans are NOT to be used or constructed for commercial sale or profit.

DreamBuilders Logo

We also request that you attribute the source of the designs of the desk to DreamBuilders. All of the desks we have manufactured contain the DreamBuilders logo. If you are so inclined, we can provide an electronic version of our logo. The DreamBuilders Desk design and specifications were developed by DreamBuilders of Maryland, an Interfaith all-volunteer outreach organization under the auspices of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Highland, MD. DreamBuilders is not responsible or liable for any injury that occurs during the manufacturing or use of these desks.


DreamBuilders Desk Project Press Coverage

Baltimore Jewish Times – https://www.jewishtimes.com/114247/temple-isaiah-builds-desks-for-remote-learners/news/local-news/ – 12/7/2020

Good Morning America – Giving Students a Safe Place to Learn – 8/13/2020 

Howard County Times  – Maryland non-profit builds portable desks for Howard County students to use during online learning – 8/5/2020

WJZ – Local Non-Profit Dreambuilders Is Making Desks for Howard County Students – 8/2/2020

WBAL – DreamBuilders Builds Desks To Help Howard County Homebound Students Amid Coronavirus Pandemic – 7/30/2020

WJZ – Volunteers To Build Desks For Howard County Students in Need – 7/27/2020


Survey

We want to hear about your portable desk build and/or event. Please follow this link to complete our survey – Portable Desk Survey link


A special “THANK YOU” to all the individuals and the following organizations for their in-kind contributions to the building of the DreamBuilders Desks! We couldn’t have done it without you.

KasCon Managers Builders Logo
KasCon Managers + Builders
Hayford Builders
Hayford Builders
American Cedar and Millword
American Cedar & Millwork
Kendall Hardware
Kendalls Hardware
Kendall Hardware Inc.
Caseys Crab House
Casey’s Crab Co.
Window Nation
Window Nation

To make a donation for the DreamBuilders Portable Desk Project, please use our secure PayPal account by pressing the donate button below: