Donor Challenge

UPDATE (4/1/2016)!!!

Rochester Swimming and Diving Fans,

In the 11 days since we announced a $12,000 fundraising challenge, you have responded with $10,100 dollars in donations and pledges! With this wonderful, early success, our anonymous donor has enthusiastically "raised the bar", offering to match all donations, dollar-for-dollar up to $15,000! I'd like to challenge you to help raise the remaining $4,900 needed to meet this challenge by the May 1 deadline.

The State Bonding bill did not cover all the renovation costs, leaving some of this to the Rochester Swimming and Diving community. We need your help to help pay for the new diving platforms, stands and diving boards at the Rec Center. The cost of this equipment is $24,000, which is necessary to host high-school and college competitions at the Rec Center. We also need to pay for new touchpads to host the three Long Course State Meets that are scheduled at the Rec Center this summer (Unlike short-course meets, we need touchpads at each end for long-course meets).

The Rec Center has already successfully hosted 7 big swimming meets since the Pool Renovation was completed in December 2015. Check out the pictures below from 2 weeks ago, taken at the Age Group State meet, where almost 1000 swimmers and thousands of spectators packed the Rec Center for 4 days! As the saying goes, "If you build it, they will come"!

I won't beat around the bush. We need your help. Please help us to complete this project by making a tax deductible contribution to Rochester Swimming Inc. We only need $4,900 to reach our goal! To those that have already given, THANK YOU!

Bill Shaughnessy

Rochester Swimming Inc.

Original Challenge (3/21/2016):

Rochester Swimming and Diving Fans,

We need your help! Today we received a $12,000 challenge from an anonymous donor. The donor will make a matching dollar-for-dollar contribution up to $12,000 to help pay for the diving platforms, stands and boards at the Rec Center. The bill for this equipment is $24,000, which is necessary to host high-school and college competitions at the Rec Center. We need to meet this challenge over the next 6 weeks, by May 1.

The Rochester Swim Club Orcas have hired a coach to start a diving program beginning in April. Please help us to pay for the diving equipment by making a tax deductible contribution to Rochester Swimming Inc.

Because the water level has been raised up to the pool deck-level gutters, the old diving boards were 10 inches too low! Brad Thatcher (with a LITTLE help from Jeff Chida) pulled off what can only be described as a miracle during September 2015. They obtained engineering plans and then built new 1-meter stands and a platform for two 3-meter boards. Incredible! As you know, there is only one other pool in Rochester with diving boards! See the photos below.

I won't beat around the bush. While Brad Thatcher built much of this on a shoestring at his cost, we need to pay for the materials. As you can see from the photos, there are no diving boards on the 3-meter platform just yet. I very much hope you will help us complete this project by making a financial contribution to match the $12,000 donation.

Bill Shaughnessy

Rochester Swimming Inc.

P.S. You can send us a tax-deductible contribution, payable to "Rochester Swimming Inc.", 720 27th Street NW, Rochester, MN 55901. You can also make a contribution on our website, http://www.rochesterswimming.org/donations