FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Chase skate park
Image Credit: Contributed
August 05, 2016 - 6:30 PM
CHASE - While the Chase skate park didn’t win $250,000 grand prize it’s still coming away with $20,000.
The skateboard facility was a finalist in the Kraft Heinz Project Play competition, but didn't quite make first place. While the winner, a nordic ski park in Cantley, Que., is receiving the grand prize of $250,000 after an online vote, the Chase project still gets $20,000 for making it to the final four.
The grand prize would have likely made the park a reality, but skate park committee member Marie Vogel says the $20,000 is still a huge contribution to the project.
“It’s awesome,” she says. “That’s the biggest donation we’ve gotten.
She says the national exposure from the vote has been a boost for the comittie, as well.
Over the past 10 years they’ve made progress. The park has a location and the design has been finalized and paid for, so the committee is looking for funds to get construction going.
Now that the vote is over, Vogel says the committee is looking for other ways to raise money for the project. They currently have around $10,000 in the bank and the $20,000 from the vote. The money coming from the competition wasn't expected at the beginning of the year, so the committee is ahead of expectations, Vogel says.
Fundraisers are planned for this summer, but more attention will be put towards grant writing for now. About $300,000 is likely needed for the project, Vogel says, but costs could be lower depending on in-kind or material donations.
“We have to shoot for the big amount so that if something comes up we can cover it,” she says. “That’s a big project for a small town like us.”
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