Following a fire this week that shut them down for the rest of the summer, the Curious Kids Museum in St. Joseph is getting help recovering from the southwest Michigan community. The day after the fire on Tuesday, Boss Services started a $5,000 crowdfunding campaign to help the museum recoup lost income, offering to match donations up to that amount. After it raised about half, Honor Credit Union came forward and offered another $2,500, getting the campaign to its goal. Honor Credit Union’s Beth Anderson presented a check to the museum Friday. What made Honor want to help?
“Because that’s what we do at Honor,” Anderson said. “When we see a need in the community, we fill it. We try to do whatever we can to support our community and especially our members.”
Jeff Street with Boss Services told us there was no way he could sit back and not help. Curious Kids Museum Director Lori Marcianiak told us what’s been happening since the fire.
“We’ve had lots of insurance adjusters and investigators,” Marcianiak said. “We still don’t know the cause of the fire. It’s definitely electrical. They’re still looking into that. We’ve had ServPro in here, literally ripping everything out. The fire damage itself, structurally, is minimal. The water, foam, and smoke damage is way more than we thought.”
The fire started in the attic and its exact cause isn’t known. Damage was done to the ceiling, some walls, and some exhibits, mostly due to water and foam sprayed by firefighters. Marcianiak says it’s amazing to get support from the community as the museum recovers. The Go Fund Me started by Boss Services will continue through July 17, and anyone can still donate.
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