SCOW hosts Home Depot woodworking event for Wallingford kids
WALLINGFORD — Sounds of hammering and laughter echoed while children and their families put together do-it-yourself wood kits at the Spanish Community of Wallingford (SCOW), in partnership with The Home Depot.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the mega store hosted a woodworking activity at the non-profit organization on Saturday. Like most SCOW events, the activity was completely free for children up to 12 years old.
According to Jonathan Wilder, operations manager for the North Haven location of The Home Depot, every month the company celebrates a topic involving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
“We were looking to see how we can tie what we talk about in our stores with DEI through the community,” Wilder said.
The store also has a community program called Team Depot where employees of different store locations volunteer on local projects for the community. Volunteers representing different stores in surrounding towns participated in the workshop, including associates from North Haven, Orange, East Haven, Trumbull and Bridgeport.
“We thought it’d be a cool chance to bring that out into the Hispanic community and really get to know the community around here,” Wilder said. “But also have a chance for our associates to be involved in something that’s important to the Hispanic heritage.”
The Home Depot hosts a kids’ woodworking workshop in its stores every first Saturday of the month. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the initiative.
“I think it’s awesome just for us to partner (with SCOW) because just for the kids to do something positive and not negative and just to have a different mindset on everything,” said Jacqueline Andel, a Home Depot volunteer. “That’s what we provide for the community, to uplift and not be negative or anything like that. That’s mostly what it’s about, (providing) a positive setting for the kids.”
Andel explained that this event provides a haven for the children of the Wallingford community to practice their endurance by putting together a substantial product made of wood that they can take home and use.
“Well, if they want to be a builder, this is the start,” Andel said. “This is an opportunity to see what it’s about, even if it’s just like a little toy or something like that, it’s a start in their brain to do something more with their life and when they get older.”
Parents and their children were greeted by the smiling faces of the volunteers and a table decorated with orange aprons for the children to wear during the activity.
The children had three wood kits to choose from — a race car, a mini pottery bench and a fire boat, in recognition of October being Fire Safety Month.
Former executive director of SCOW Maria Harlow brought her daughter, Fiona Harlow, to the workshop, not only because of her previous involvement with SCOW but because she thought it was special that The Home Depot was sharing the activity with the community during Hispanic Heritage Month. Maria Harlow is the currect executive director of the Meriden-Wallingford United Way.
“It is wonderful to bring opportunities to connect the community with different activities that are available in the town,” she said. “This one, in particular, I love because it’s hands-on so the children enjoy it very much. I also love to see how businesses that our communities support and our communities buy things from offer this activity for the children. I think it is very exciting.”
Rocio Piña, alongside her husband, brought her two daughters, Helene and Emilie Piña because she wanted to do something as a family, learn with the community and do an activity that can help their children in the future.
“It just helps with meeting with other kids and learning other things besides your daily routines,” Rocio Piña said. “This activity also helps them communicate better with others.”
Peggy O’Connor stopped by with her daughter, Isabel O’ Connor and son Nico O’Connor on their way to a robotics class in the SCOW building, because a friendly volunteer asked if they wanted to join, and having experienced the in-store kid’s workshop at Home Depot before the pandemic, they couldn’t say no.
“My kids love it and I’m Hispanic so why not,” Peggy O’Connor said. “They love the hands-on, getting to hammer, getting to build. They love it and they feel like they’re making something.”
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