Help the Gem Theatre purchase a new projector
My name is Amy, I am the manager of the Gem Theatre in Philip, SD. Philip is a small rural community(743) in western South Dakota. The Gem is owned by my parents. It is normally open every friday-monday. My parents, myself, and my daughter donate our time every weekend to be open for our community and the surrounding communities. We love our little theater, and our little community, so to us it is a labor of love. Not many towns our size have a movie theater, that is what makes us so very special. The Gem was built in 1907. It is a 1 screen theater which seats over 200 people. It serves many small communities in the region. It has seen many changes through its lifetime. It showed the black and white silent movies, showed live plays, fashion shows, magicians, high school graduations, orchestras, was one of the first theaters in South Dakota to show "Talkies"(movies with sound), in the dirty thirties they even accepted bags of grain and other goods as payment for tickets. We host many birthday parties, after prom movies, church youth groups, and Santa still makes his appearance each year. We switched over to digital movies in 2012. In order to switch over to digital we purchased a digital projector, new speakers and sound system, and digital server and processor, with a price tag of $65,000. Fast forward to March of 2020, covid pandemic. The Gem was forced to close its doors to movie goers. Our concession stand has opened each Friday and Saturday night for our loyal patrons, who graciously support us with each popcorn and treat purchase. Our advertisers who's ads would normally show on the big screen before each movie became ads that we place on every popcorn bag and display on the front of our theatre. Without their continued support we would not be able to pay our monthly bills. Just as films slowly began to be released to theaters again, we were able to show a couple to the brave souls who were not afraid to watch a movie in a theater. On March 15th 2021 almost a year after the pandemic forced us to alter our existence, the unthinkable happened. A severe winter storm hit our area and caused multiple power outages. In the process our digital projector was damaged beyond repair. Our insurance company refuses to pay for our projector. They informed us that they don't cover damage from power outages or surges. We are now faced with the $43,000 cost of a new digital projector. I have applied for 2 grants, and am currently working on the shuttered venue grant. If we receive all of these grants we will still be short on funds for the purchase of a projector. We don't have any reserve income to make loan payments after these unforseen times, so we are asking for help.
Please, if you care about small town USA, small businesses who's only objective is to enhance the quality of life in a small town, safe places for children to spend time with their friends and family, historical places, nostalgia, the thrill and excitement of watching a movie in a theater, movie theater popcorn, or just love to help people and businesses in need, we need your help!
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you!
God Bless
