DANVILLE — The Montour Area Recreation Commission needs to raise several thousand dollars before the end of the year, to receive a $25,000 challenge grant from the Degenstein Foundation. Bob Stoudt says the funding will pay for upkeep and maintenance of the Montour Preserve.
Stoudt explained, “We got recently, $500 from the Beverly Laubach Fund at the Danville Community Foundation, an additional $1700 from the Victor and Linda Marks Family Fund and a $15,000 pledge from a Montour County business, which wishes to remain anonymous, so we are still short $8,000 that we need to get before the end of the year.”
However, they did get one more gift, “Since we put out the word yesterday, I’m real pleased to report that we did receive a $1,000 anonymous donation yesterday from a Danville family, so that brings us down to $7,000. But, we really are looking to the long-term. We hope to have no less than 10 years of funding in-hand, with the ultimate goal of putting together an endowed fund, where we’ve got money in this account that we can count on. We can essentially live off the interest and what we can generate at the Preserve without touching that principal.” Stoudt said that way it is there essentially forever, and that is the ultimate goal that they are working toward.
Stoudt says they are open year round for visitors at the Montour Preserve, “All of the trails and all of the outdoor stuff is open Monday through Friday from 8 until 4. The Visitor’s Center is also open. Everything that they used to know and love at the Montour Preserve essentially is still there today, thanks to the generosity of all of the people that have helped out so far.”
The donations are administered by the Central Susquehanna Community Foundation and you can find details at www.MontourPreserve.org/donate. You can hear more from Bob Stoudt of the Montour Area Recreation Commission from WKOK Sunrise online at www.wkok.com.
