Small VT non-profit fundraiser for snowmaking pump house, July 2022

[MarzNC]

Ever heard of the Brattleboro Ski Hill in Brattleboro, VT? It's run by the non-profit Living Memorial Park Snow Sports, Inc. Recently they started a GoFundMe to raise money for the new snowmaking pump house that's being built this summer. Replacing the pump wasn't a choice. The old one blew up last winter. Already almost $5000 raised after a few weeks. The goal is $12,000.

This note was re-posted on Northeast Skiology yesterday. The writer of the text works at Magic. I learned about the fundraiser from another ski forum. @Harvey said it was fine to create a thread here.

Early July 2022
"Northeast skiers and riders, a small community hill needs your help!

The Who: I’m the Ops Director at Magic but have been trying to assist some of the awesome volunteers that run a super cool local hill on the side and we are to the point where we really need some help from the skiing public.

The Where: Brattleboro Ski Hill is an all-volunteer 501(c)3 nonprofit ski area with one handle tow and very limited snowmaking that exists solely to keep skiing affordable to families. How affordable, you ask? check this out:
Lift ticket $5
Ages 5 and under FREE
12-ticket punch card $50
Individual season pass $75
Family season pass $200
We are talking DIRT CHEAP!!

The What: Their snowmaking pump blew up last season and since it’s an ancient, inefficient & rare pump type it will need to be replaced completely. This opens up an opportunity to increase capabilities and modernize a bit, but this will also cost a fair chunk of cash a nonprofit that charges $5 a head can’t spare.

I don’t have to tell you savvy northeastern skiers how hard it is for this communities to maintain these types of resources with all-volunteer workforces, nor do I have to revisit the NELSAP doomsday clock these small ski areas face in increasingly uncertain times. What I do have to tell you is that Brattleboro Ski Hill needs your help! $5, $20, whatever you can spare- if enough people care, we can help make these positive changes happen!"

 

[Woodski12]

Thanks for posting I will get in there for at least a few bucks.

 

[MarzNC]

The reason the goal was raised to $12,000 is that the most recent cost estimate for the project is $25,000.

Ski Hill Snowmaking Pump House Updates, organized by Zach Rounds

Summertime is when the volunteers at the Brattleboro Ski Hill repair and conduct m… Zach Rounds needs your support for Ski Hill Snowmaking Pump House Updates

www.gofundme.com

 

[MarzNC]

A bit more background about Brattleboro Ski Hill in this article. As of July 25, the donation total is close to $10K when combined with a few larger pledges.

July 20, 2022

Living Memorial Park campaign makes rain for snowmaking: Crowdsourcing effort seeks $5,000 — for starters — to upgrade snowmaking, pump house repairs

BRATTLEBORO—It may be mid-summer, but volunteers are already thinking about winter.Living Memorial Park Snow Sports, Inc., the nonprofit that operates the Brattleboro Ski Hill, has started raising money for snowmaking upgrades as well as some needed repairs to the hill’s pump house to improve...

www.commonsnews.org

" . . .

Nearly 85 years of history​

The mission of Brattleboro Ski Hill is to provide “quality, affordable, and beautiful” skiing and snowboarding to the community.

The area opened in 1938 as the Guilford Street Ski Tow, and a 1,100-foot-rope tow pulled 300 skiers an hour to the top of the hill.

When the land the ski hill was on was bought by the town of Brattleboro to create what became Living Memorial Park, the town took over operating the hill, adding lights for night skiing and a T-bar lift.

The town continued to operate the hill, but with rising costs and no snowmaking ability, “it was complicated,” Rounds says.

Rising costs and erratic winter weather prompted the town to give up keeping the hill open for snow sports in 1995.

In 1997, a group of volunteers took up the challenge and have been running the hill ever since, with night skiing and boarding on Thursdays and Fridays, and all day skiing on Saturdays and Sundays, weather permitting.

Keeping lift tickets at $5, says Rounds, “makes it affordable for everyone.” Children age 5 and younger ski free.

The hill also offers skiing and snowboard lessons.

“We encourage all ages, and we highly encourage the family atmosphere,” says Rounds [VP of the non-profit], a pre-med undergraduate student at St. Michael’s College who grew up in Putney. “It’s a full-time job for me, but it’s like a hobby.”
. . ."