Local News from Marbletown, Rochester, & Rosendale
The ongoing efforts to save the Marbletown Community Center and get the needed repairs are moving forward. Rich Parete, town supervisor, and Ev Mann of Marbletown Multi-Arts met and secured that the money raised will be earmarked for the repairs.
“Rich Parete has confirmed that the town can accept donations and is setting up a separate account for these dedicated donations,” said Mann. “They are tax deductible so folks can simply write a check made out to the town,” said Mann, who is on a committee working to raise funds for the MCC.
Parete said, “Donations to the town for the Community Center will be put in a separate account and will only go toward Community Center repairs. We have to do emergency repairs to the roof and then replace the entire roof in the fall. I am concerned about the cost. Ev always puts Marbletown first, he cares about the community and is working hard to raise money to help defray the costs of repairing the building.”
The committee is working on several fronts to raise money. A FUNraiser is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Saturday, June 17, at the MCC. Nancy Plumer, committee member, said, “We are having an online auction, which will go beyond the event. We will have computers at the event for people to bid. At this point we have a few musicians for the event, and Ev is working on more. We are exploring a GoFundMe page. We are collecting auction items that people can donate. Food, music, meet your neighbor and a short program and a few speakers will be at the event. Ev is working on a flier with co-sponsors and more information.”
“The wine tasting to benefit the MCC date is TBA,” Mann said, “but will be sometime in June. Stone Ridge Wine & Spirits is donating 10% of its sales. We are still lining up sponsors, but thus far we have Stone Ridge Wine & Spirits, Stone Ridge Orchard, Marbletown Seniors, HHC [Holoistic Health Community], High Meadow School and Marbletown Multi-Arts, SahasraYoga. Chris Silva is going to donate tickets for UPAC-Bardavon, and Elizabeth Ryan of Stone Ridge Orchard will be providing food and drink for the event,” Mann continued.
“I’ve always enjoyed the concept of a community gathering place in Marbletown,” said Tim Sweeney, co-owner of Stone Ridge Wine & Spirits. “When I served on the Town Board, Councilman Terwilliger spearheaded the effort to partner with the American Legion to create the Community Center. By pledging 10% of the proceeds from our June wine tasting Laurel and I are happy to help contribute toward offsetting some of the costs of rehabbing the building. It certainly is a great resource for our town.”
Cornelia Wathen said, “I am representing the HHC on the committee led by Ev Mann and Nancy Plumer to raise money for the MCC. We love the Community Center and use it at least twice a month to offer free holistic healthcare sessions to the community and to offer free holistic self-care classes and workshops. The building stands at the heart of the Marbletown Community. It is our wish to see the necessary repairs done and to have it remain as a beautiful resource for our work and for the community as a whole. Community is an essential ingredient of health and well-being, and the Community Center brings us together in so many ways.”
“Our work for the MCC is about love … the love of our community, the organizations that have gathered there and continue to gather there and have created connection, learning, fun, healing,” said Plumer. “The absolute and precious and sacred events that have taken place at the MCC – memorials, spiritual gatherings, parties and celebrations, AARP tax support, Wild Earth, High Meadow, Stone Ridge Library and so much more. The MCC is the heart and soul of the community, its location, its history and its purpose. We need to support the repairs and the maintenance of this beloved space.”
Mann said, “The organizing committee is greatly encouraged by the response of local individuals and business. It is abundantly clear that the MCC is a beloved gathering space and that folks are ready to step up and help preserve it for future generations. We are confident that we can raise the funds necessary to not only repair but revitalize this important community resource.”
