The birds may have flown south for the winter, but the Big Brothers Big Sisters program in St. Cloud is getting ready for their return. On Nov. 20, five SCTCC Carpentry students volunteered to help the St. Cloud Big Brothers Big Sisters program building birdhouses.
This is the first year that BBBS partnered with SCTCC for the project, and both instructor Pat Dehler and BBBS Program Director Ann Matvick felt it was a great experience for everyone involved.
“This is a good way for our BBBS students to experience what the Carpentry program is like,” said Matvick. She said it was great to have SCTCC students with experience helping out.
SCTCC Carpentry was recommended to BBBS by Foley Lumber, which also donated all the wood used in the project. SCTCC students precut the wood pieces so it was easier for the BBBS participants to build their birdhouses.
Each of the 15 participants created a birdhouse to keep, and additional birdhouses were built to auction at the BBBS Magic Moment Gala in April.
Dehler and SCTCC students also talked about the Carpentry program at SCTCC and what careers are available.
“Many of the kids actually knew more about reading tape measures and hammering nails than I expected,” said Dehler. “They all did a great job.”
This was also a great way for SCTCC students to learn about mentoring. The maximum amount of BBBS youth signed up for the event, and after some pizza, everyone got to work on the birdhouses.
When the birds return in the springtime, there will be some new accommodations for them in the St. Cloud area, thanks to BBBS and the SCTCC Carpentry students.