Katie's campaign for our community makerspace

Will you please include Truckee Roundhouse in your Give Back Tahoe giving ??? If this is December 3rd and you make a gift of $50 gift you will help us win a matching grant challenge from Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation. I'd love to out-raise my fellow board members in this friendly competition. Thanks for helping. Call me with any questions: 510-760-1571.

Here is my story.....Three years ago, I attended a workshop and made a critter-proof raised garden bed for our backyard at an event hosted by Slow Food Tahoe at the new Truckee Roundhouse .  That was my first experience of the makerspace that had opened just months prior.

I was impressed by the collaborative nature of that event, of how many volunteers on hand were willing to give me a hand. What a warm and welcoming environment! Being new to town at the time, I didn't know these folks, but I instantly felt a sense of connection to my new community in this most collaborative environment and I liked that.

And, the tools!! I could never, ever have access to all these great tools were it not for this space. I decided to help the Roundhouse thrive, especially considering my non-profit fundraising career was just coming to an end, so I volunteered to help them with their donor program, since only 50% of the budget is derived from memberships and class fees and the balance must come from donations.

The more I got involved, the more I came to appreciate how this place was serving so many. I saw young people being mentored by skilled artisans as they created something with their own hands, which you have to admit is a rare in our "everything made in China" world.

And I got creative myself. I learned how to use new wood tools and made a cool cutting board, I took a class on how to cut steel with a CNC plasma cutter, I turned a mahogany bowl on the lathe, I hemmed my jeans and they looked like I bought them that way. Joe and I are going to take a welding class soon and create a steel sculpture for our home. From the wood shop, to metal work, textiles and ceramics, I have a huge list of projects on tap for the future.

So that's all cool, but it's not for me that I'm asking you to make a gift to the Roundhouse.  It is for our youth.  In these Give Back Tahoe pages you can read about our School and Community Enrichment Programs that are giving kids the chance to make things with their own hands, to exercise creativity, to learn new skills.  The partnerships that we have with schools and non-profits are numerous and are profoundly benefitting so many.  

To understand how important the Roundhouse (and other makerspaces are in their communities), you can read online about the maker movement. It's powerful.  I quote from some educators,  "At the heart of this movement is the understanding that learning happens best when learners construct their understanding through a process of constructing things to share with others.” Furthermore, "ultimately, the outcome of maker education and educational makerspaces leads to determination, independence and creative problem solving, and an authentic preparation for the real world through simulating real-world challenges. In short, an educational makerspace is less of a classroom and more of a motivational speech without words."  IKR?

We like to say that "making" can change the world and we are helping do just that, one creative step at a time.  Thanks for joining us today with your gift!

With deep appreciation. 🙂 Katie