Hero Central: Students build sheds for the homeless

Seminole, Florida -- While most kids are home enjoying the beginning of their summer vacations, some students are using their special skills to impact the lives of others by building wooden structures for the homeless.

Twenty-four students and teachers at Seminole Education Center are donating their time as part of a class assignment to build the shelters.

"The kids came to us at the end of the school year and wanted to complete a project they've been working on all year," said Matt Fischer, principal of Seminole Vocational Education Center.

The school project will involve building solar powered casitas -- makeshift housing for the homeless. The Pinellas County school district approved the project at the end of the school year, but several students wanted to get an early start on the project.

"We partnered with Catholic Charities, Junior Achievement and Worknet and were able to build five shelters in eight days with the kids," Fisher said.

Catholic Charities pays for all the materials and the students provide the labor for free.

The students specialize in carpentry and electrical wiring. This year, the kids added something new that will allow the use of lights and fans.

"I'm putting in solar panels and they're supposed to make life easier inside the casitas," said, Michael Rizzo, a student who specializes in carpentry in the program.

The students would like to build eight of the 6-by-8-foot sheds over a two week period.

Not only are these kids acquiring the skills that will help them succeed later in life, they're taking these skill and using them to benefit others.

"It makes me feel amazing that I can use skills that I've learned over the years to better someone's life. It really brings joy to me," said Michael Carson, a student at the school.

Other students say they realize the economy has taken a toll on a lot of people who can no longer afford housing and they wanted to do something to help stem the tide of the homeless in their neighborhoods.

"All of these people that fell on hard times when the economy tanked, lost their homes and had nowhere to go, I think it's time for me to give back to my community,"  Rizzo said.

The casitas will be placed at the Pinellas Hope site near 49^th Street in mid-Pinellas, where they'll make life a little more comfortable in the summer heat for the homeless.

"These kids are heroes in their neighborhoods because they have given up two weeks of their summer vacation to sweat, to hammer, and to do something good for another person," Fischer said.

Many of the 40 students in the program have already earned their "OSHA" 10-hour safety certification by putting in their time on the casitas. The certificates will make it easier for the students to transition into a variety of jobs within the construction industry.

If you would like to nominate someone to be a hero, contact me at: mbeal@10connects.com.