Growing Up Chester fundraiser still needs over half a million funds

Growing Up Chester fundraiser still needs over half a million funds

The Growing Up Chester fundraiser needs over half a million before they can start any preparations with designing and renovating the Thom Storm ski chalet.

The Chester Bowl Improvement Club announced an anonymous donor has made a $50,000 matching donation to renovate their ski chalet. The Growing Up Chester fundraiser kicked off back in March of 2023, and has raised $3,250,000 to date.

More than $2,000,000 in funds are from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources secured in August of 2024. The funds are expected to receive final Minnesota Legislative approval in early 2025. Executive Director Dave Schaeffer says every dollar donated between now and January 15 will be applied to this match opportunity.

“So we’re looking at a combination of grants that we’ve applied for or are in the process. Business community support with folks like Loll Designs and SkiHut have been so generous to us over the years,” Schaeffer said. “Even if folks aren’t able to donate themselves, they might know people who are, whether that’s family, whether that’s businesses that they go to that might want to support this. We just need help spreading the word so that everyone knows about this opportunity to support the community.”

The total cost of the building’s renovation and expansion is estimated at $3,850,000. The project is 85%
funded, with only $600,000 remaining to be raised.

Chester Bowl thrives because of the community of people who support it. We are overwhelmed with gratitude by the generosity of this donor,” Schaeffer said. “We hope that generosity inspires many others to donate to Growing Up Chester, ensuring that our facilities can serve children and families for generations to come.”

Chester Bowl is planning on opening their ski hill on December 14th. Also the staff are planning on using their snow guns this Friday to prepare for the ski season, which is dependent on weather conditions.

For more info about Growing Up Chester, please see www.growingupchester.org. Donations can also be made online at that site.