Donations aiding education

October 2009, San Mateo Daily Journal on Bio-Link's equipment depot.

Quoting from the article:

Bio-Link, which is partnered with the National Science Foundation, has local branches that offer a variety of support for local science teachers and classrooms. One of the largest cost savings comes from partnerships with biotechnology businesses.

When a business no longer needs equipment, it can be donated and housed by Bio-Link in a warehouse in South San Francisco. Teachers have access many times a year to collect these items for free for classroom use. With education budgets growing and cost for hands-on lab equipment staying high, education officials recognize much of what happens in the classroom would no longer be possible without such donations. 

Getting materials to teachers takes many organizations working together. Almost everything Bio-Link has is donated.

Director Elaine Johnson explained the organization works out of the University of California at San Francisco, which donates office space. Donated items are stored in a warehouse at the San Francisco International Airport in space supplied by the City College of San Francisco. Close to 50 teacher volunteers and others work together to make this giving process possible. 

It’s a simple idea.

Businesses have material they no longer need, for a variety of reasons, but do not want to handle individual teacher requests while storing the unneeded equipment. Those materials are taken to the Bio-Link Depot in South San Francisco. Open houses are held every six weeks to two months and are open to all teachers who can show credentials. They must also fill out some forms.

Read the article.