Thanks to the efforts of a dozen young volunteers, a tiny home project in Langley is inching closer to completion.

Middle school and high school students from Oak Harbor’s robotics team made the 35-mile trek down to the Village by the Sea last week to spend a day of their winter break working on Tiny Houses in the Name of Christ, or THINC.

The students have knowledge that extends beyond just programming robots. Che Edoga, one of the mentors for the club and a robotics teacher at Oak Harbor High School, said the students have experience in completing home repairs. A few years ago, members of the robotics team helped bring Hearts & Hammers, an annual work day of fixing up homes for those in need, to North Whidbey.

“We try to do a lot of work in the community,” Edoga said. “We build wheelchair ramps, stuff like that.”

The robotics kids were searching for a way to help the homeless, and THINC seemed to fit that category. When finished, the tiny homes will be rented to low-income families who have struggled to find housing.

“We’re trying to help and we’re trying to do what we can. We’ve had a couple of kids who have been home insecure on the team,” Edoga said. “For a bunch of the kids, this has kind of been their passion project.”

On Wednesday, Dec. 28, the students constructed decks, dug drainage trenches and painted the interior of a few of the houses.

“They’re just fabulous. They did everything and they did everything well and they were so cheerful and fun,” said Coyla Shepard, one of THINC’s founders. “It was just a party.”

The dedicated group of kids plans to return to THINC later to build a greenhouse and a seating area for a fire pit. They will also hold a blanket drive for residents of the tiny homes and assess each household’s situation to provide adequate warmth and coverage.

“That’s kind of our goal for the team, is to apply the things they learn to make the world a better place,” Edoga said.

Photo provided Courtney Williams from Oak Harbor paints the interior of one of the Langley tiny homes.