Thanks to ProSpace and FCI Constructors, students at Grand Mesa Middle School have a state of the art resource for working with their hands.
ProSpace donated a ROVER MakerSpace unit to GMMS, 585 31 1/2 Road on Wednesday. The donation was underwritten by Shane Haas of FCI.
Helping to provide the unit, priced as high as nearly $8,100, served as a sort of homecoming for Haas, who was the project manager when Grand Mesa Middle School was built in 1997.
“I think this is going to help kids learn that working in trades is a viable career. College isn’t for everyone and it’s important for kids to learn that in middle school.” Haas said. “It’s everyone’s duty to give kids the opportunity to learn their paths.”
The donation stems from the Ninth Annual White Iced Celebration where a silent auction was held for the naming rights to the unit.
The MakerSpace unit is a mobile desk with power outlets and ample storage space. Say that a technical education class is building models. The makerspace unit will be able to transport chairs and all of the needed materials.
Kim Davis, principal at Grand Mesa Middle School, could hardly contain her enthusiasm on Wednesday.
“Getting kids more hands-on opportunities is important. They need to know that there are many pathways in life and this will expose them to that,” she said. “This is going to help the kid who has a great idea but can’t express it through other ways. Really, it’s going to help students find their future.”
Dave Huerkamp, vice president of sales at ProSpace, was delighted to help that cause and said this is an example of the school district and business community collaborating to benefit kids.
A BUSY YEAR
The COVID-19 pandemic has been tumultuous for District 51. It seems that the community has caught wind of that and upped its philanthropic game.
Since last summer, the D51 Foundation has been pumping out news releases highlighting donations.
Academy Mortgage donated $3,115 worth of school supplies last October and the White Iced Celebration drew a slew of sponsors. Then in March, Alpine Bank donated $50,000 to go toward grants for teachers and staff who pursue social and emotional learning training. In April, the foundation and Clifton Elementary School celebrated after Academy Mortgage helped fundraise $65,000 to renovate the school’s library.
To Angela Christensen, executive director of the D51 Foundation, this signals that the community is buying into the purpose of the 10-year-old foundation.
“We receive so much support from the community. I think this past year has been our biggest year for donations, in terms of volume and value,” she said. “The money goes to tech like this MakerSpace, the Lunch Lizard, and just making sure that kids can succeed. I think it helps that people know exactly where the money is going.”
For more information on the D51 Foundation and to donate yourself, visit d51foundation.org.
