Students from 20 high school skilled trades programs will lead a variety of community impact projects designed to address a local need or problem. Their teachers, all winners of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, will guide them through the projects with the goal of challenging and empowering students to make a positive difference in their community. Harbor Freight Tools for Schools helps to support these projects by providing grants of up to $10,000.

Here are a few of the inspiring projects:

Project Name: Paddle Together

Teacher: Leif Sorgule, Peru, NY

Goals: Mobile Manufacturing Lab, Collaboration with Younger Students and Community

Paddleboarding is a popular recreational activity in Peru, NY, located in the northeast corner of the state near Lake Champlain and the Adirondack River. High school students will take their Mobile Manufacturing Lab on the road to local primary and middle schools, where they will design and manufacture stand-up paddleboards alongside younger students. The Mobile Manufacturing Lab will move to the local boat launch location on Lake Champlain for the final build days, where students will collaborate with community members and students at Paul Smith’s College. The paddleboards will be raffled off at community events with the proceeds being reinvested in future educational programming.

Project Name: The Mustang Tiny Home

Teacher: Lesford Dixon, San Antonio, TX

Goals: Tiny Home Construction, Housing for Veterans

Many local veterans in San Antonio, TX need affordable transitional housing. For this project, students will build an 870-square-foot tiny home which will be donated to a military veteran and their family.

The home will be constructed on a 15’ x 60’ trailer and will feature two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two closets, a kitchen, a pantry, and laundry room – all designed to accommodate wheelchair access. Students will use their skills to outfit the home with a water heater, modern kitchen appliances, a ductless heat pump HVAC system, a washer and a dryer.

Students will lead the project in partnership with local veteran organizations and businesses to establish long-term partnerships and help prepare students for college, careers, and the military.

Project Name: All United Under Cars

Teacher: Michael Shephard, Perth Amboy, NJ

Goal: Financial Independence from Basic Automotive Repair Costs

The cost of automotive repair has increased in recent years, placing a financial burden on community members struggling to pay for regular maintenance for their cars. For this project, high school students working in the Panther Auto Shop at Perth Amboy High School will run a series of three evening workshops introducing basic automotive maintenance skills and light repairs to middle school and ninth-grade students and their parents.

Attendees will learn how to change tires, set tire pressure, check oil and other common maintenance skills. The project will serve 20 members of the local community with parts donated by local industry partners. The goal of the project is to instill a sense of independence in the next generation and empower the community and students to save money by doing their own basic automotive repair and maintenance.

Project Name: Girls in The Shop

Teacher: Kathy Worley, Santee, CA

Goal: Promoting Women in the Skilled Trades

Seeking to introduce young girls and their mothers to skilled trades, Kathy Worley will partner with fellow teachers to conduct a series of workshop nights at local middle and high schools. Student leaders will demonstrate and then assist new participants in making a variety of projects using woodworking, manufacturing and construction skills. Over the course of four months, students will hone their skills and learn from industry and community partners about the opportunities skilled trades pathways can provide. External partners include Taylor Guitars, East County Economic Development Corporation, San Diego County Office of Education, and Southwest Carpenters Training Fund of San Diego.

Project Name: Buddy Benches

Teacher: Blair Jensen, Riverton, UT

Goal: Combating Bullying, Promoting Empathy

Buddy benches are a designated spot located on elementary school playgrounds where students can sit until they see a recess activity they wish to participate in or are invited to play with others. Research has shown that these benches are combating bullying problems in elementary schools by promoting kindness and empathy. The benches provide children with a tool to make new friends. Students in Blair Jensen’s class chose this project because they met some of their closest friends on buddy benches in elementary school. While new schools in the Jordan School District all have buddy benches, older schools do not. For this project, welding students will design and fabricate 16 buddy benches for the older schools. The six-foot-long benches will then be installed on school playgrounds by construction students working on their concrete pouring skills. All students involved will also work with the district’s teacher education instructor to create and lead an anti-bullying assembly for elementary students.