A Humble Request…

I have been maintaining this site with a focus on STEM education resources for more than a decade. (We are rapidly approaching 1000 posts to this site.) During that time I’ve never asked my readers for anything. No PayPal donations, no Kickstarter, no Patreon premium content, no merchandise. I’ve even paid every year (until recently) to keep advertisements off of this site.

So, as you can probably tell, today is the day I’m going to ask for something.

In February 2020, my wife was hired as executive director (now CEO) of our local food bank-The Bonney Lake Food Bank. Little did she know that she was entering this already difficult job in the midst of what would become a global pandemic generating rapidly expanding food insecurity. She saw her customer base grow from supporting 150 families per week in February 2020 to over 1000 families per week in November 2020. Notice that says families…not individuals.

Rather than maintain business as usual the Bonney Lake Food Bank has innovated during these stressful times. In order to maintain social distance and support those who cannot always easily travel, they have implemented a thriving delivery model. This has required new infrastructure, new technology, new systems, new software, new vehicles, new knowledge and beliefs about those who need support, and a generous amount of collaboration from the National Guard and the local community.

One of the greatest bottlenecks to the work has been the small dilapidated building that my wife inherited. This eye-sore was quickly spruced up to at least a baseline of usability last winter. However, that building is not a long-term solution. It is a hazard, unfit for the work that needs to be done, and it does not represent the dignity that customers and staff of the food bank deserve. Therefore the Bonney Lake Food Bank will be moving to a new site starting in December of this year. But there is much work that needs to be done at the new site.

Watch the video below to hear from leaders and volunteers at the Bonney Lake Food Bank and their vision for the sustainable new location- The Market.

So I’m asking for your support. If you have ever appreciated a resource that I posted on this site. If you’ve ever laughed at a silly science music video I posted. If you’ve ever used a picture book, a lesson plan, or appreciated a report that you found here. Then I would ask you to please donate to the Bonney Lake Food Bank. Any amount is helpful. Click HERE to donate directly to the relocation fund. This will help the organization move to the new site and to fully enact their vision for providing food, support, and dignity to those who need it most.

Thank you for any support you can give,

Kirk Robbins