Craig Burden made the February/March 2015 issue of Hardwood Floors because he started a free flooring school in Memphis to teach inner-city teenagers how to do wood flooring. A year later, his program has expanded to a new building and a new set of students.
Thanks to a grant from the state of Tennessee, Burden will begin leading a flooring class for men and women who are leaving jail after serving time for minor offenses.
Thanks to a grant from the state of Tennessee, Burden will begin leading a flooring class for men and women who are leaving jail after serving time for minor offenses. The class, under the direction of the Tennessee Department of Corrections, will last 22 weeks and aims to train the students to become productive members of society, Burden says.
“It is the most wonderful experience,” said Burden, the owner of Your Floor Man retail store in Memphis. “I’ve been given an opportunity to give the skills God has given me in installation of flooring and share it with a community that needs to grow.”
The DOC also donated a large warehouse to Burden to remodel and use as the training facility. The warehouse is four times the size of the building where Burden launched his young adult floor covering program last year.
Burden will lead instruction for the DOC program at night and continue teaching at-risk young adults during the day.
Burden expects more than 150 men and women will undergo floor installation training through the two 22-week programs, which begin in April.
Burden is asking for donations for the morning class. He can be contacted via email or at (901) 849-3090.
