PORT TOWNSEND — The 4-H Port Townsend STEM robotics team has launched fundraising to recover items lost in a January burglary and to subsidize program costs.
“We have an amazing opportunity to provide this resource to create a place where kids can gather and build community resiliency,” said Gabriella Ashford — her daughter, Ella, is the club president — about the lab.
“But this costs money, and if we only raise a few thousand dollars in this benefit, then at the end of April, we’ll just turn it off.”
The group hopes to raise $15,000, which will pay the $1,000 monthly utility bill at the lab on Thomas Street for one year, as well as replace tools and equipment taken during a Jan. 18 burglary, which is as yet unsolved.
The club is hosting a fundraiser from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Elks Lodge, 555 Otto St.
It will include robotics demonstrations and games, a raffle, an auction and entertainment provided by Louie’s World karaoke.
Tickets are $20. They will be available at the door.
Advance tickets are available by calling 360-531-3575 or emailing havenkids@gmail.com.
So far, the club has raised $2,000 in ticket sales, Ashford said.
The club has also set up a crowdsourcing page at www.gofundme.com/defendthecastle that as of Tuesday afternoon reflected $200 toward the $15,000 goal.
“The burglary really hurt us,” Ashford said.
“Right before it happened, the kids had spent their entire Christmas vacation working on the lab.
“[The burglar(s)] also took our tools, which we have to replace.”
The burglar or burglars also unloaded the contents of a fire extinguisher in the lab’s computer room, she said.
Port Townsend Police Sgt. Troy Surber determined that the burglar most likely gained entrance through a window on the north side of the 48-foot-by-72-foot metal structure.
Attempts to lift fingerprints from the scene were unsuccessful, Surber said in his report.
He collected an inventory of the stolen items but has not located them, he said.
On Tuesday, Surber said the investigation was continuing.
Since the burglary, the building’s security has been tightened. The large double doors have been secured with screws, and windows have been boarded from the inside.
The club also designed and built a motion-sensitive camera that sends real-time pictures to a cellphone.
Discussion about providing security in a small town will be one of the themes of Friday’s benefit.
Ashford calls the club a “sport of the mind” and compared the in-progress lab to a playing field.
“With this lab, the kids don’t have to pack everything into a closet when they’re done,” Ashford said.
“Setting up this lab is like a soccer team getting a new field.”
In its fourth year, the team has exceeded expectations.
“We keep getting more ambitious and taking on projects that are way beyond what I thought we would be doing a couple of years ago,” said Austin Henry, the robotics team’s coach.
“We are getting away from building glorified toys and moving towards stuff that kids could actually be using in the real world.”
The team is no stranger to last-minute fundraising: In April 2015, it became a last-minute contestant for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) World Championship in St. Louis.
At that time, the team successfully raised $20,000 in two weeks, although it did not place in the competition.
The club also is seeking grants and contributions from individuals, government entities and philanthropic organizations.
“The community should be able to come up with $12,000 to keep the doors open on a place like this,” Ashford said.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
