SAN GABRIEL, Calif. – A Chino man has started a movement, building desks for students learning from home. It started with just one donation after he realized the need and now there’s a network of builders who have finished their 100th desk.
Since the new school year started, most students have been learning from home for about a month now. Ever since, there’s been a huge increase in need for desks. The problem is, many parents can’t afford them.
Dan Diep is a director of IT by day, but when it’s time for lunch, he turns into a handyman.
"So right now, the fastest I can build is in 20 minutes," said Dan Diep.
Not bad for an entire desk, but he’s still trying to step it up a notch.
"We have a list of almost 250 people on there that have requested it," Diep said.
Over 250 parents and counting are signed up for this desk Diep is building for free. He’s one of about a dozen builders putting the desks together for students learning from home.
It’s a movement that started with Diep’s former colleague, a man named Chai Hansanuwat, who began building these desks after realizing many of his son's classmates were distance learning from couches and kitchen tables. Diep heard what Hansanuwat was doing and wanted in.
“I always like to give back to the community however I can and doing something that I like, with my hands and work, working is something that I enjoy doing so it’s kind of a win-win," said Diep.
A win for him and for the other builders who are seeing an outpouring of support and appreciation from the community.
Diep met a mom of two at a nearby park for her pick up. Susana Gonzalez says the desks he made will restore peace and focus in her household.
"[My kids] both have class at the same time so, if a teacher calls on one, they have to unmute and I’m telling the other one wait, be quiet let her answer the question," Gonzalez explained. "So now they’re gonna be on separate ends of the house.”
The 20 miles she drove from Pomona to San Gabriel is a short trip compared to others willing to drive 100 miles to pick up the desks from builders in San Bernardino and L.A. Counties.
"They’re so excited," Gonzalez told Diep. "They’ve been both working at the kitchen table and they both have class at the same time. So, thank you so much," Gonzales said.
“It’s been hard. With this distance learning, it’s hard," she added.
Diep hopes to make things a little bit easier with what he calls his small contribution.
"Having to work from home full-time and having to deal with the kids, I can’t imagine so giving back like this with the desks, it’s, you know, a small thing that we can do to give back to them in any way we can," he said.