Building Blocks for Remote Learning

Red Bank business owner Billy Millington of The Millington Group consulting firm and his talented friend Patrick Bek-gran teamed up to do something to make remote learning a bit more special for students at Red Bank Regional High School (RBR).

“My wife [Carolyn] and I have been donating to Lunch Break for probably 10 years,” Billy said. “I started by volunteering in the pantry, working in the basement, stocking shelves.”

Zoom technology has enabled school to continue virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, after watching a news story on home learning, Billy and Patrick imagined many kids were lacking an “old school” item in their home — desks! So they quickly got to work.

“I made everything out of three-quarter inch plywood, which is common, but versatile and strong,” said Patrick, who is known for his craftsmanship. “We wanted to make something nice, that could definitely still be used once the kids got done with them, as a coffee or console table.”

Billy donated the materials and Patrick began building beautiful wooden structures to provide students with a functional working space. With an assembly line in mind, Patrick cut the table parts with his saw, while Billy and Carolyn helped paint the desks. The team ended up making seven desks in total, while putting in nearly 24 hours of work that weekend.

Patrick donated one desk to a local family whose young daughter was being homeschooled, while the other six were donated to Lunch Break to be allocated. It was a labor of love and commitment to children in our community.

Billy and Patrick are weighing the possibility of manufacturing more desks in the future, highlighting how much time and effort went into this project alone, as they are considering a simpler design best suited for mass assembly.

Lunch Break is helping to distribute the finished products in coordination with social worker Suzanne Keller and principal Julius Clark at RBR. Thank you to all involved!

Categorised in: In The Spotlight