Keep the lights on at Panamint Springs Resort
Donation protected
Panamint Springs, a rustic and remote community & resort in the heart of Death Valley National Park has been decimated by the COVID travel bans and has barely been able to survive since April. The resort is off the grid and has to generate its own electricity, but the bank is threatening to take the generators. With no electricity, the resort and small community will close permanently and the people who live and work there will become homeless. This is why a group of us Panamint enthusiasts are asking for the community to step in and help save this family and community. If it goes under, the park will probably bull-dose the place and it will never return.
The family members on site have been working since April without pay trying to keep the place from going under, but it has been a real struggle. The National Park was closed for quite some time, and visitors to the area dropped 95% within days of the shutdown. Travelers are finally beginning to return to the area, but with all the restrictions still in place and the uncertainty about further restrictions, it is still a daily struggle to keep operations going. It's been a brutal year for the family but they have managed to keep the campground, RV Parking, Fuel Station, and Store open, along with take-out and outdoor dining on a limited schedule in the restaurant. Getting food, fuel, and supplies delivered to the resort has become near impossible and very expensive, so they have had to get very creative in order to obtain fresh quality food items and supplies. The motel has been open off and on, and finally has enough guests to allow daily reservations. They have taken great measures to implement COVID health protocols throughout the resort to protect the guests and community, but that is also very expensive.
The family has struggled to keep up with creditors, most are working with the family to give them some breathing room, but the generators were installed in February right before everything fell apart, and there just isn't enough business yet to cover the costs. We are hoping to raise enough to pay them off, or at least give the bank enough to prevent them from showing up in the middle of the night and turning the electricity off.
In addition to raising some needed funds, we would like encourage everyone to plan and book a trip up to Panamint as soon as you can. Also, please tell your family and friends about Panamint Springs and how amazing of an experience a visit to the Panamint community and Death Valley National Park would be. This time of year is the best time, the weather is not hot and the landscape is breathtaking. If you are looking for somewhere to escape all the lock-downs and hoards of people on top of each other, then Panamint is the place to go. Bring your RV, tent, hiking boots, or just jump in the car and go. This is a great place to get away from everything and everyone.
Please help save this 100 year old historic resort.
https://www.panamintsprings.com/
Update 12/4/2020: Use of Funds: A few people have asked how the proceeds will be used. Ben Cassell, one of the family members and GM of Panamint will be the only one authorized to receive the proceeds from the fund raiser, and they will be transferred directly to the company bank account from GoFundMe (that's standard GoFundMe policy). Ben reports financials to the Board monthly so they will monitor the use of the funds. Panamint financed the purchase of a set of new generators in March this year to replace the 20 year old power generators that were up and down on a daily basis. Those got installed in March 2020, literally a couple weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. So the resort has stable power, but if the bank isn't paid, they will come and take them away. The funds will be used to cover the cost of the generators including financing, maintenance, fuel, and other related costs to keep the power grid on 24/7. If there are any funds left over, they will be used for repairs of other resort equipment that is in desperate need of repair. 100% of the funds will be used for the intended purpose. I'm a close friend of the family and have been visiting Panamint for years and have helped them off and on over the years with events, projects, and administration when needed. I love the family and the resort, and I have seen this family ban together along with some employees and others to do everything in their power to keep from closing the resort.
The family members on site have been working since April without pay trying to keep the place from going under, but it has been a real struggle. The National Park was closed for quite some time, and visitors to the area dropped 95% within days of the shutdown. Travelers are finally beginning to return to the area, but with all the restrictions still in place and the uncertainty about further restrictions, it is still a daily struggle to keep operations going. It's been a brutal year for the family but they have managed to keep the campground, RV Parking, Fuel Station, and Store open, along with take-out and outdoor dining on a limited schedule in the restaurant. Getting food, fuel, and supplies delivered to the resort has become near impossible and very expensive, so they have had to get very creative in order to obtain fresh quality food items and supplies. The motel has been open off and on, and finally has enough guests to allow daily reservations. They have taken great measures to implement COVID health protocols throughout the resort to protect the guests and community, but that is also very expensive.
The family has struggled to keep up with creditors, most are working with the family to give them some breathing room, but the generators were installed in February right before everything fell apart, and there just isn't enough business yet to cover the costs. We are hoping to raise enough to pay them off, or at least give the bank enough to prevent them from showing up in the middle of the night and turning the electricity off.
In addition to raising some needed funds, we would like encourage everyone to plan and book a trip up to Panamint as soon as you can. Also, please tell your family and friends about Panamint Springs and how amazing of an experience a visit to the Panamint community and Death Valley National Park would be. This time of year is the best time, the weather is not hot and the landscape is breathtaking. If you are looking for somewhere to escape all the lock-downs and hoards of people on top of each other, then Panamint is the place to go. Bring your RV, tent, hiking boots, or just jump in the car and go. This is a great place to get away from everything and everyone.
Please help save this 100 year old historic resort.
https://www.panamintsprings.com/
Update 12/4/2020: Use of Funds: A few people have asked how the proceeds will be used. Ben Cassell, one of the family members and GM of Panamint will be the only one authorized to receive the proceeds from the fund raiser, and they will be transferred directly to the company bank account from GoFundMe (that's standard GoFundMe policy). Ben reports financials to the Board monthly so they will monitor the use of the funds. Panamint financed the purchase of a set of new generators in March this year to replace the 20 year old power generators that were up and down on a daily basis. Those got installed in March 2020, literally a couple weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. So the resort has stable power, but if the bank isn't paid, they will come and take them away. The funds will be used to cover the cost of the generators including financing, maintenance, fuel, and other related costs to keep the power grid on 24/7. If there are any funds left over, they will be used for repairs of other resort equipment that is in desperate need of repair. 100% of the funds will be used for the intended purpose. I'm a close friend of the family and have been visiting Panamint for years and have helped them off and on over the years with events, projects, and administration when needed. I love the family and the resort, and I have seen this family ban together along with some employees and others to do everything in their power to keep from closing the resort.
Organizer and beneficiary
Dan Samuels
Organizer
Darwin, CA
Benjamin Cassell
Beneficiary
