San Diego

Power Tools Used to ‘Make Something Beautiful' Stolen From Escondido HS

An Escondido teacher featured as NBC 7's Inspirational Teacher of the Month said the outpouring of support from the community has been “amazing,” after some valuable tools were taken from his classroom in a break-in.

Morgan Lundy’s woodshop class was featured on NBC 7 in Nov. 2018 because of the invaluable lessons -- what he called "Lundy's life lessons" -- that he shared with students through his woodshop class at Classical Academy High School.

"Woodworking's the smallest part of what I teach," he told NBC 7's Rory Devine at the time.

But last month, he arrived at his classroom and noticed one of the doors to his tool shed was open and the padlock was on the ground.

Lundy looked inside and saw the power tools his students use -- six power drills, a battery-operated skill saw and the class' speaker -- were missing.

"As I walked over there, I saw that there was a lot more to it and I saw that the place had been gone through, doors were pulled out, tools all over the floor," Lundy said.

NBC 7 shared the story, and Lundy said he immediately received offers to replace the tools and help in other

ways.

“It made me realize, oh man, this isn't gonna slow us down at all," Lundy said.

At the time of the burglary, the students were working on their biggest project of the semester, creating inspirational “Signs of Hope” out of wood pallets.

Tuesday, they delivered those signs to people living at Mountain Shadows Community Home, a nearby care center for adults living with intellectual disabilities.

Senior Neryssa Lopez thought long and hard about what to put on her sign.

“I chose you matter, because we all need to have that reminder,” Lopez said.

Her sign was chosen by a woman named Lupita.

Lopez used one of the new drills to put it up on her wall.

"It's really a blessing to see my sign in use for someone else that can find beauty in it," Lopez said.

Lundy does the “Signs of Hope” project with his class each semester.

“Every single time I come, man, it has a huge impact on me. It makes me grateful,” Lundy said.

He is also grateful to those who helped replace the stolen items, to Loew’s for installing new shelving in his woodshop and to the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, who is giving him a new, more heavy-duty, shed for all his tools.

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