Wheelchair-bound children no longer struggle to maneuver the orphanage floors. (Photos by Corey Jeter)
Volunteers on the most recent trip to Shepherd's Field divided their time playing with the kids and installing flooring.
Sam Cobb first traveled to Shepherd's Field Children's Village, a Chinese orphanage for special-needs children that would change his life forever, in 2007. Until then, Cobb's company, Missouri-based Real Wood Floors, had sponsored two of the facility's 75 children with small monthly payments. What he saw was encouraging—the facility had enough staff to provide a one-to-three nanny/child ratio. And the nannies were caring. But he also noticed the conditions of the floor.
The flooring, a donation, had been installed incorrectly. Cobb could see the floor moving as the children, some using walkers or wheelchairs, traveled across the room. An idea overwhelmed him: "I off-the-cuff offered to the director that I would be happy to install these floors." The director called him a month later, beginning a partnership that still nine years later.
Cobb and an ever-increasing group of Real Wood Floors' clients and volunteers have traveled to China four times to install flooring at the orphanage. All told, the crews have installed about 56,000 square feet.
They've done more than just install floors, though. Cobb and his wife adopted one child after their third trip. Some friends, a couple without industry ties, did the same. During a dinner on the most recent trip, Cobb told the 35-person crew that Real Wood Floors would pay half the expense for anyone who also wished to adopt a child. Two men took him up on the offer.
After the last trip, the orphanage was completely floored, but Cobb's mission is not complete. He has a new plan he calls 10x10x10: He wants to build 10 orphanages, educate 100 orphans and find homes for 1,000 orphans. And he wants to find 10 companies to take on the same mission.
"That's charitable giving. It's not giving something away, it's figuring out what is it you are made to do and how can we align our daily tasks to accomplish that vision," Cobb says. "Yeah, we make nice wood flooring and we love the industry, but that's not what gets us up in the morning. What gets us up, what makes us push, is the impact we're realizing we can have in the lives of these kids."
