The Nest in Denver, Colorado, faced some interesting challenges in connecting with fellow Burners and securing necessary staples during the pandemic. While the Denver Leads had international connections to other Burners from experiences together throughout the years, identifying and communicating to those in need around us proved to be difficult.

We curated the distributions by hand and carefully shopped bulk items and graciously took in private donations to meet our goals for the Denver nest. We had a generous Craigslist turnout, and almost half of what we were able to distribute was donated by complete strangers, passionate about our cause. Once curated, we delivered the kits in-person, complete with our own personal Burning Man “flair.” I started a “drive-by shooting” delivery style where I wanted to make participants not feel like recipients of a donation out of necessity, but rather members of a community that cared about them. We’d drop off care packages on respective front porches, along with a “shooter” of alcohol that recipients had to socially-distant “consume” as a part of the “drive-by shooting.” What ended up happening as a result was a lot of smiles, a lot of thank you’s, and some very meaningful experiences together as a community.

In total, the Denver nest was able to reach Burners in the Denver and Boulder region who were either unemployed, financially unwell, or in need, with respect, finesse, and fun. While activity has quieted down in the opening of the Colorado economy, the Denver nest is ready to continue serving fellow Burners as they weather the remainder of this disruptive pandemic.