GE shed giveaway sparks heavy interest | Pandemic 2020 – Rutland Herald

GE Aviation found itself distributing sheds this week.

The company has donated five wooden sheds initially built for COVID-19 screenings to area organizations, exposing a wider need in the process.

I have about 40 emails from people looking for sheds, GE business leader Drew Smith said.

Smith said GE assembled the sheds back in April.

We basically had tents set up at the mall where we did COVID screening, he said. We wanted to get back on our own property.

The maintenance staff built the wooden sheds, which he said were roughly 12 feet by 16 feet and insulated, with space to install a heater or air conditioner. They were made to hold one employee at a time along with the person tasked with taking employee temperatures before employees could enter the factory. About a month ago, Smith said, the company has acquired thermal scanners and moved the screening process indoors.

They withstood all the weather we had this year, including the big wind storms, Smith said.

With no more use for the sheds itself, Smith said the company figured there had to be organizations in the area that could use them. Inquiries led him to Project VISION, which sent a notice out on its mailing list.

I immediately had this mad rush of emails in my inbox of interest in sheds by nonprofits in Rutland County, he said. Within 24 hours, we had a home for all of them, and we have a backlog list.

Smith said the sheds were awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

We didnt want to decide who needs a shed the most, he said. Every organization had a really specific special need.

The sheds wound up going to Northeast Primary School, Northwood Park, Alliance Community Fellowship, Habitat for Humanity and Kinder Way Farm Sanctuary.

With the changing health situation, we are spending a lot of time outdoors, said Susanne Engels, principal at Northeast Primary School. The more were learning outside, the more were realizing the value of convenient storage.

Also, Engels said the need for room for social distancing has placed a premium on indoor storage space, making the schools new shed doubly valuable.

gordon.dritschilo

@rutlandherald.com

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GE shed giveaway sparks heavy interest | Pandemic 2020 - Rutland Herald