Long-distance learning for a Youngstown schoolteacher is not stopping her from showing how much she cares for her students and just how much complete strangers care about them as well.

Kirkmere Elementary School preschool teacher Gia Marra is sharing a story about how finding an old desk abandoned along a curb inspired her to roll up her sleeves and open her pocketbook to hand-make 20 desks for her students forced to learn at home during the pandemic.

Marra says seeing the little beat-up desk made her think how she sees many of her students sitting on the floor, beds, kitchen, and coffee tables as she teaches them remotely.

 

 She took the desk home thinking she could refinish it and give it to one of her students.

“Well, me being me, Ms. Fixit, I took it apart and thought it would be easy to replicate it. That was the easy part,” said Marra who said the idea turned into a school project to make desks for all 20 of her students.

With a $100 insurance refund she had received in the mail, Marra headed to Home Depot where she bought two sheets of plywood.

A couple she met at the store who had offered to help her load the wood into her car asked her what she was making. When Marra told them, the couple offered her $40 to buy another sheet of plywood.

“I couldn’t believe it and couldn’t thank them enough,” said Marra.

Still needing more money, Marra was selling some items online when a woman and her daughter asked why she needed the money.

When Marra told them about the desk project, the mother and daughter contributed another $60.

“I couldn’t believe the kindness from strangers,” said Marra.  

Marra’s coworker, a neighbor, and hairdresser also donated and Marra was able to buy stain and urethane needed to finish the desks.

“If it wasn’t for finding that little desk and the timing of that refund check, this project probably wouldn’t have happened,” said Marra. “The materials costs around $340 and I only had to use $60 of my own money.”

Marra’s show of concern for her remote students goes beyond the desk project.  In April, when the Pandemic was keeping students at home, Marra visited seventeen homes to drop off care packages. 

She also took the time to sit down at a safe distance at nine of the homes to read books to students.  Those who were not home at the time found chalk-drawn messages of good wishes written by Marra on their driveway.

Every two weeks, Marra says she still drops off supplies like puzzles, blocks, or play dough to keep her students engaged in learning.

During this coming Friday’s delivery, Marra says she intends to drop off the desks made with love.