LYNNFIELD — More than 100 volunteers rolled up their sleeves and emptied their toolboxes at the annual Lynnfield Rotary Club’s Build a Bed event Saturday morning at Lynnfield High School.
The sounds of hammering, sanding and happy chatter filled the cafeteria, as teams worked to complete 26 wood-framed twin beds.
The group needed only 90 minutes before it was mission accomplished. The final task was loading the beds onto the A Bed for Every Child truck for delivery to the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless warehouse. Both organizations are based in Lynn and share a mutual mission to end homelessness.
The cost to make one bed is approximately $350, a cost covered by 21 sponsors. Volunteers were provided with all materials that included pre-cut lumber, detailed instructions, hardware and a toolbox full of tools.
The event was originally scheduled to be held outside at MarketStreet, but was moved to the high school due to a weather forecast that called for rain. While the forecast was far off the mark, Rotary Co-President Christine Travers said she was glad the event was indoors.
“Honestly, it’s so hot today so I think it was a good thing to move it to the high school,” she said. “We’re up to 80-something beds and we’re hoping to hit 100 next year. Again, we had over 100 volunteers, which was great, and, as you can see, it’s always a great event with a lot of generous sponsors, which we always appreciate.”
Lynnfield Police Capt. Chris DeCarlo and Sgt. Jonathan Santos and their kids were among the many volunteers. Lynnfield Police was also a sponsor.
“We put a team with some of the guys who are working on the new station in to get a bed done to help the Rotary kids,” Santos said. “We’re having a good time with it.”
“We’re doing pretty good and we got all the kids here, so this is a great event,” DiCarlo said.
Longtime Lynnfield residents Hilda and Jack Moynihan, a former Rotary president, also were on hand. They’ve volunteered and have sponsored the event every year.
“The event is so helpful and they’re just beautiful; it gives me a good feeling in my heart every year we do this,” Hilda Moynihan said.
Travers was especially pleased with the number of young people who volunteered, among them sponsor Encore Dance Academy and members of the high school’s Rotary Interact Club.
“It’s just great to see them all giving back to the community. We are going to continue to do this as a tradition every year and that is our goal,” Travers said. “It’s definitely one of my favorite events and it’s a great couple of hours. You feel so good knowing you are serving so many communities and are reflective of Rotary’s Service before Self motto and mission.”
Andrew Steer and his 11-year-old daughter Leah, a member of Girl Scout Troop 70345, also volunteered. They learned about the program through an email sent from troop leaders encouraging scouts to participate.
Andrew Steer said they ran into a couple of minor obstacles, but figured things out to get back on track.
“Nothing major, but the directions were helpful in figuring out what to do,” he said, and admitted he isn’t really the handyman type. “I mean, I’m not building my own deck, but I can do little things and the Girl Scouts are always looking to help out in the community, so here we are. We had a conversation on the way over here that we need to think about the kids who don’t even have beds, so that’s why we’re here, really to get a perspective on what’s really important.”
Leah Steer, a fifth grader at Lynnfield Middle School. Also volunteered last year.
“I really enjoy doing this and today it was fun,” she said. “I hope to be back next year.”
Wilson Sanchez, warehouse manager for Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, said building beds with Lynnfield Rotary “has been amazing and is helping needy families in Massachusetts.”
Former Rotary President Ron Block, who was instrumental in organizing the first Build a Bed program, noted the absence of Dave Drislane, who was a regular at the first three Build a Bed events and died earlier this year. Block said two Lynnfield High scholarships, the Dave Drislane Service above Self scholarships, have been established in Drislane’s honor.
“He was a Rotarian for 70 years,” Block said. “He was just a wonderful guy, who everybody loved and respected. He was truly missed today.”
