Destrehan High School teacher Craig Perrier sensed the satisfaction from the students in his carpentry class after completing projects around the school, and it gave him an idea that this was a group that could strive for more with a little helpful backing.
That backing has arrived. Perrier and his students have received a grant of $1,000 from the St. Charles Public School Foundation that it will use to complete a set of wheelchair ramps for the homes of elderly and disabled people in need around the community, a project that enters full launch this week. Perrier said the United Way of St. Charles pointed he and his class to a few people in need, and he’s looking forward to lending assistance and allowing his students a different and rewarding experience.
“I thought it would be great for my kids who are getting certification,” Perrier explained.
“They’ll be able to go in the workforce and get straight to work. This enables them to get hands-on training, on the job site, from start to finish. They’ll be able to see what it’s like outside of a lab, in the real world, how a job can get started and completed.”
He said his students are excited to get to work.
“The kids can’t wait. They’re ready to go, though I wonder if some of that is they’re eager to leave school for a few hours,” Perrier joked. “Honestly, though, any time they do one of our projects around school, you can tell they feel a sense of satisfaction.
“So I know once they see this elderly person who will be so excited that she can get up and down now, it’s going to be nice for them.”
His protégés concurred with that thought process.
“Yeah, I’m pretty excited,” said Cole Perilloux. “I really would like to give back to the community and show some of the skills that Coach Craig Perrier’s taught us. It really is going to be a good experience.”
Added classmate Eli Clay, “It’s pretty rewarding. It makes us all feel good as a whole, to come together as a team to help the community.”
Perrier said the grant allowed him to purchase portable tools for his students which would allow for the installation for the ramps.
“Everything I have is really stationary here,” he said. This allows us enough for one project. We’re waiting for other funds. Everyone wants to see how this first project comes out.”
He said his class is currently set to offer assistance to three homes. But the Destrehan teacher said that hopes are to see this project expand in a big way from here.
“It’s not going to just be ramps,” he said. “We’d like to make this a regular thing, to be able to just help people around the house. If they have cabinets that are broken, we might be able to fix them, things like that.”
In fact, he said those plans are already in the works. He noted there will be an application those in need may fill out to request the assistance of the young carpenters, and that help won’t just be limited to the elderly. He noted a few organizations, such as the St. Charles Women’s Club and Motiva, have expressed interest in assisting a longer-term iteration of the project.
“We want to be able to help anyone who’s less fortunate,” Perrier said. “We’ll help people who need projects completed around the house, fences needing built, who maybe can’t afford to or who aren’t able to do it themselves. They can say, I need this, and we can offer a hand.”
He added that he hopes to see his students develop a habit of helping that will stick with them down the road of life.
“It should be a very good thing for them,” Perrier said. “They get to experience the satisfaction of helping somebody less fortunate than them. Hopefully, it makes them feel good about themselves and they continue to pay it forward.
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