Media Advisory: Wake Forest students decorate desks for children
Wake Forest University students will gather on Manchester Plaza from 3 to 7 p.m.on April 15 to paint desks for local elementary students. This annual service project began on campus in 2004 and is called Developing Education through Student Knowledge (D.E.S.K). The goal is to provide desks, chairs and school supplies to children in the Winston-Salem community who are in need of a workspace at home.
Tierney Kraft (BS ’04) and Elizabeth Eubank (BA ’04) came up with the idea for D.E.S.K after they noticed many of the children they were tutoring at a local elementary school did not have a place to study at home. To address the issue, Kraft and Eubank created D.E.S.K to provide restored desks for students at Old Town Elementary.
Each year, co-chairs enlist the help of Lowes and local furniture stores, who donate the desks and other supplies.
This year, students from more than 40 campus organizations including fraternities and sororities, athletic teams, clubs and student government will meet to paint desks for 47 children from Old Town Elementary. Each child is paired with a team of students who decorate the desk according to the child’s interests. All children will also receive T-shirts and books with the theme “D.E.S.Kpicable Me.”
This year’s co-chairs are seniors Jen Koniuk and Cary Sellers.
“So many of these students are able to succeed if they are just given the chance to do so,” Sellers said. “That is what D.E.S.K is all about. Once they are given the tools, they can accomplish anything.”
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About Wake Forest University: Wake Forest University combines the best traditions of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a large research university. Founded in 1834, the school is located in Winston-Salem, N.C. The University’s graduate school of arts and sciences, divinity school, and nationally ranked schools of law, medicine and business enrich our intellectual environment. Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu.
