NBC shop students put together multiple sections of wheelchair ramp that will soon be installed at a residence in Ames by Rebuilding Together.

NBC class helps Rebuilding

by Jason Futch
Published 5/6/26

The North Bend Central High School shop class is working on a project that is set to help an elderly disabled woman in Ames to be able to freely get in and out of her house.

The shop class, working with the Rebuilding Together Platte Valley East affiliate, built a ramp that will be installed at the woman’s house.
Volunteer Coordinator Ted DeTurk, who is overseeing the project on behalf of Rebuilding Together, said the organization has worked with other schools and programs throughout the area and the project was no exception.

“We started planning back in November, but then we had a change in teachers,” he said. “Once we got the lumber out to Mike, the shop class knocked it out of the park.”

Mike Borer, who has been acting as the long-term substitute teacher for the shop class, said the organization had supplied the wood and blueprints for the project, allowing the class to move forward with constructing the ramp and putting it together. He did admit the blueprints, which were designed by Menards, had to be adjusted so they could put it in three different sections.

Borer and DeTurk explained that the future recipient of the ramp is an elderly woman who uses a wheelchair and faces significant mobility challenges. Her daughter reached out to Rebuilding Together seeking assistance in improving her mother’s accessibility and safety at home.

Through a collaborative effort with NBC superintendent Patrick Ningen, the organizations were able to come together to bring the project to life, ensuring the woman can move more freely and comfortably in her own space.

“The ramp is ready to be picked up,” Borer said. “Unfortunately, we are running out of school time because I would have liked to bring the class up there and install it.”

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