Media Advisory: Wake Forest students decorate desks for children

Wake Forest University students will gather Thursday, April 23 from 3 to 7 p.m. on Poteat Field to paint desks for local elementary students. This annual service project began on campus in 2000 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.

Students from various campus organizations, including athletic teams, fraternities and sororities, honor societies and religious groups, will meet to paint desks for 46 children from Old Town Elementary. Each child is paired with a team of students who decorate the desk according to the childs interests. The theme of the event is Monsters U.

Each year, co-chairs enlist the help of Lowes and local furniture stores, who donate the desks and other supplies. This years co-chairs are seniors Kesley Drusch and Sarah Vivenzio.

“We aim to bring the campus together to recognize how important a good education is,” said Vivenzio. “D.E.S.K. is a bold step toward making Pro Humanitate come to life. Every student at Wake Forest has been fortunate enough to have a good education that prepared them for college, and every child deserves the same opportunity.”

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.

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.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Campus Life, Events, Media Advisory, Pro Humanitate, Student