Revitalize Dumont has received a pair of major donations this week to support its effort to restore the former Dumont school.
On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Dumont Telephone Company presented a $125,000 donation to the nonprofit organization, which purchased the school with the goal of repairing and repurposing the building. Revitalize Dumont has identified the roof as a top priority, along with adding electricity and water service to the gymnasium.
Roger Kregel, president of Revitalize Dumont, tells RadioOnTheGo News the donation will be dedicated to the roof project.
“It will not be used immediately unless we have some other funds come in in the near future,” says Kregel. “We’ve received roughly $80,000 in donations that we’re going to be using towards getting the electricity into the building. $80,000 isn’t enough for the roof. So, we’re working on what we can afford. But we definitely need the roof addressed on the gymnasium. We’re hoping that in the future couple months here, that some of the larger donations may be coming in and/or some of the grants that we’ve applied for. So no, it’s not gonna be used right away, but it’s certainly earmarked for the roof.”
On Thursday Oct. 2, First Security Bank & Trust added another $10,000 contribution. Last month, Revitalize Dumont raised just over $10,000 during a poker run fundraiser.
Kregel says the community’s generosity is making a difference.
“We’ve had a very good week with local businesses supporting the organization in our efforts. And we hope that this is just uh really just the beginning of support. We’ve had great support from alumni, class reunions, family members, both people that went to school here and ones that don’t have no connection to the community or school. So words getting out. We appreciate everybody’s support. We appreciate all of our volunteers. And we’re just trying to have a little fun with this as we try and move forward.”
The group’s next fundraising event is scheduled for Oct. 11, when it will host a Fall Cross Country Fun Run/Walk. Registration begins at 7 a.m. with the event starting at 7:30 a.m. That evening, starting at 5 p.m., a drive-thru pork chop meal event will take place at the school. Meals will be offered for a free-will donation.
If you’d like to make a donation to Revitalize Dumont, you can drop one off anytime at any First Security Bank and Trust location. More information on the fun run can be found on Revitalize Dumont’s Facebook page.
