Ronan students compete in bunk-bed race to help foster program

Teams of Ronan High School students will put their woodworking skills to the test on May 1, competing in a race against the clock to build bunk beds for foster children in Lake County.

The idea for the competition emerged when local CarePortal Volunteer Coordinator Leah Johnson approached the students’ industrial arts teacher, Hap Cheff, with a request for more beds.

CarePortal, an online children’s advocacy platform, brings the needs identified by social workers and caseworkers in the child welfare and foster care system to the attention of the community. One basic essential needed in many of the homes taking in new foster children, Johnson said, is beds.

According to Johnson, families who open their homes to foster children often find themselves taking in multiple kids at a time as groups of siblings are placed together.

“We kept noticing when requests were submitted was there was a huge need for bunk beds,” Johnson said.

Then, she said, those requests would often sit unfilled for months as the system struggled to find the resources.

Cheff, who attends church with Johnson and knew of CarePortal’s work, saw an opportunity to put his skills and his students to work last year when the need first came to light.

Together with his students, Cheff designed and built six bunk beds, which were then delivered to various foster homes within the community.

This year, Cheff said, he decided to take the project to the next level, creating a competition for his students who will volunteer their time and labor to build six more bunk beds on May 1.

Around 10 juniors and seniors will split into teams of two or three and attempt to build twin-sized bunk beds with the designs given within a 4-hour time limit.

Cheff will judge his students’ work based on how quickly they assemble the beds and how well they follow their designs, checking for accurate measurements, screw placements and overall quality.

The first-place team will win woodworking tools provided by Cheff.

The finished beds will then be distributed by CarePortal to fill requests submitted by foster families in the area.

Dupuis Lumber in Polson provided the materials for all six beds at a discounted rate.

Funding for the project comes from Thrivent Financial, a nonprofit Christian faith-based financing company, Johnson said. Members of the financial group receive $500 a year to put toward community outreach projects, according to Johnson, and she put hers into the beds.

CarePortal came to Montana through its implementing partner, Child Bridge, a nonprofit organization based out of Bigfork and aimed at finding and equipping foster families across the state.

Child Bridge utilizes CarePortal as a tool to help connect churches and organizations with the needs of foster families within local communities and to aid in the reunification of families.

For more information on CarePortal or to get involved, visit https://careportal.org/.

For more information on how to get involved in foster care or to support foster families in your area, visit https://www.childbridgemontana.org/.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.