This week, Dave Gunn visited the students of Hapnot Collegiate’s Grade 12 Intro to Trades Applied Carpentry class with a unique gift: a mini fridge designed to look like an amplifier.
The gift was a thank-you for the students’ work in helping with renovations to Gunn’s home.
In 2013, Gunn and wife Maxine purchased the former St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on Whitney Street, with plans to transform the 6,400-sq-ft building into a three-section building: one area for their home, one for storage and one (the former chapel area) for a high-end rental apartment.
This fall, teacher Colin Davis’ students volunteered their time to prep the chapel area for renovation.
Over three weeks, the class headed to Whitney Street for one-and-a-half hour work sessions, where they gutted the building and stripped the walls down to the frame. The job gave the students a chance for some real-world experience, Davis says.
“The kids all learn about wall framing and other aspects of home construction,” explained Davis. “This was a chance to see it firsthand.”
The pizzas they earned from Gunn at the end of each class were a nice bonus, too.
