The renovation is progressing well. We had a wild turkey show up on the first day. (And come inside!) Most of the needed demolition is done, and most of the first floor has been framed. The 10 first floor bedrooms are now 20 bedrooms. It’s beginning to take the shape of a retreat center! The trucks are coming and going regularly with the framers, electricians, plumbers, etc…
Fundraising Update
For those of you unable to attend our fundraising IPO two weeks ago, it was a wonderful laughter-filled evening with a great turnout and a strong sense of community and support for the retreat center. We raised almost $25K towards our renovation. You can listen to a recording from the evening which includes much of Wes Nisker’s monologue here: Comic Fundraising for IRC
We currently have about $2,075,000 available for our renovation. To complete the project as planned we need to raise another $125K, $20K of which we have a matching pledge for when we are $20K from the goal. We are hoping to raise the additional funds in the next few weeks so as to not reduce the scope of our work. Once we’re close to completion, we will also need funds for the startup, as we’ll need 42 beds and bedding, chairs, kitchen equipment, and other retreat center essentials.
Retreats
We have begun to tentatively schedule retreats starting November, and have a number of retreats scheduled for 2013. We should have some details available before the end of summer.