PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Students at Harley School in Pittsford are taking the architecture and design skills they're learning about in class outdoors for a project to help Rochester’s homeless.

The students are constructing a tiny home to donate to Peace Village, a homeless encampment in Rochester.

What You Need To Know

  • More than a dozen Harley School students are building a tiny home to donate to Peace Village in Rochester

  • Peace Village is a homeless encampment

  • They are hoping to build more

“This is exactly what we like to do here at Harley and this is exactly something that I’d like to get the kids doing," said Harley School maker educator Kima Enerson. "It builds in some of the skills that they learn and we talk about the different factors of homelessness and how building homes contributes to moving out of that homeless cycle.” 

Junior Haley Corteville has built a few small wooden projects, but nothing like this.

“It’s really nice to know that you are doing something that can make a difference,” said Corteville. “It's spending this time in school that feels like it really matters.”

They'll finish up the tiny house in a couple of weeks and deliver it to Peace Village. They are hoping to build more and have started an online tiny home fundraiser to buy more materials.

“It’s just really nice to help the community and to give back,” said Harley School seventh grader Alec Smith.

“In the upper school class we always have a community build project and when I had a Harley parent come to me and say 'hey is this something you wanna do?' I didn’t know how it’s going to fit in, but I said yes, we will find away,” said Enerson.

To donate to the tiny house project check out harleyschool.org/tinyhouses.