Denver Home Living Huettner Capital Fall 2018 | Page 29

with school principals. The group also serves Boys & Girls Clubs,
Destination Imagination groups, Scouts, and other student groups.
Yet Welsh’s vision is always to do more. “I wish more teachers knew
about us and could take advantage of our services,” she says.
To help spread the word, Welsh and her outreach team work with
district administrators, attend educational conferences, and train
local museum staff. Welsh recently hired two additional employees to
help spur future growth. Corporate teams also pitch in, volunteering
to assemble project kits as part of their company’s Corporate Social
Responsibilities (CSR) program. Companies are also quick to donate
materials, such as desk supplies, art supplies, hardware, containers,
party supplies, and more (a complete list of suitable donations can be
found at http://www.raftcolorado.org/material-donations/, along with
items that are not acceptable).
Perhaps the most important thing for teachers to know is how easy it
is to take advantage of RAFT’s huge compilation of resources. While
there is a low annual membership fee for teachers and a small cost
for kits and other materials, there is also a wealth of free information
available to the public on the RAFT website at www.raftcolorado.
org. For example, under the category “Idea Sheets,” there are detailed
instructions for projects named “3D Tree,” “Acid or Base?,” “Born
From an Egg,” and over 700 others.
An amazing 89 percent of RAFT members reported that students
were more engaged and applied more critical-thinking skills when
participating in RAFT-driven activities. Said one teacher who
participated in a recent survey, “When I walk into the room and tell
my students I went to RAFT, the class explodes in cheers and dances.”
Now that’s making a difference in education.
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