Love the Marbletown Community Center

SHOW THE MARBLETOWN COMMUNITY CENTER SOME LOVE!

Anyone who's ever driven through Stone Ridge knows the Marbletown Community Center. The striking white building with Greek-Revival columns sits high on a knoll above Route 209, smack in the center of town. It's a gathering space for multi-generational public and private events, the beating heart of our community.

And it needs our help. The beloved building needs urgent roof repairs, a new furnace, updated bathrooms, and basement repairs. Faced with so many maintenance issues, the Town Board has contemplated various alternatives, including shutting the building down in the winter, moving its activities to the already-busy Marbletown Municipal Center (the former Rosendale School on Lucas Turnpike), and possibly selling it.

That last possibility set off alarm bells among those of us who love the Community Center. We're determined to raise $30,000 to supplement the Town's outlay for repairs and demonstrate our commitment to keeping the historic building open and available to the community.

If you're a longtime local, think about what the Community Center has meant to you over the years. Maybe you brought your kids there for art classes, or to sign them up for summer camp and soccer teams. Maybe you got off the bus as a teenager for after-school programs, rehearsed a play, or danced to your favorite high school band. Maybe you've taken an exercise class, gone to library lectures, 12-step and community meetings, donated to blood drives, gotten help with tax prep, or sampled the healing modalities offered free every month by a thriving Holistic Health Community. Senior citizens show up in droves for meetings of Marbletown Seniors and SSIP (Seniors Staying in Place). And people of every age congregate in the Community Center's warm knotty-pine rooms for birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, retirement ceremonies, and memorial services.

If you're new to the area, welcome! We hope you'll build the same kind of deep-rooted connections here, and that you'll get involved in preserving this remarkable resource for all to enjoy.

The Marbletown Community Center is a place where neighbors meet, so it's fitting that the building started its life in 1834 as a cracker-barrel country store, sometimes doubling as a post office and overflow schoolroom. After a 1918 makeover, it became an Episcopal church, and later, American Legion Post #1512. In 2001, the Legionnaires decided to donate it to the Town of Marbletown, and the Community Center was born. Its spacious rooms and full kitchen have been rented for countless private and non-profit events, with tiered rates for local residents and others. Decorations include cherished memorabilia from the American Legion, hundreds of daffodils planted by volunteers, and bathroom tiles hand-painted by Marbletown Elementary students. Surely this is a treasure worth saving!

What can you do to help? Plenty!

— Donate! All donations to this GoFundMe will help pay for much-needed repairs, and—just as vital—demonstrate the community's commitment to keeping the Marbletown Community Center in its historic home. Supervisor Richard Parete and the Town Board have guaranteed that all moneys raised will go into an earmarked fund exclusively for building repairs, and contributions are tax-deductible.

— Come to the FUNraising Party at the Marbletown Community Center (3654 Main Street/Route 209) on Saturday, June 17 from 5-7pm! Enjoy delicious refreshments donated by local farms, markets, and eateries. Listen to speakers and live music performed by David Gonzalez, Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez, and more. Admission is free, and donations gratefully accepted. For more information, visit Love Our Community Center's Facebook event page.

— Visit our online auction, which will be open June 10-30! Check back on June 10 and the link will be right here. The online auction will feature a treasure trove of gift certificates, goods and services donated by local businesses and individuals. Have an item to donate? Contact Nancy the Organizer below.

— Go to the wine-tasting at Stone Ridge Wine & Liquors on June 24 from 2-7pm! 10% of all sales will be donated to the Community Center repair fund.

— Volunteer! We'd love to hear your ideas and share your positive energy.

Gratefully,

Love Our Community Center (Nancy Plumer, Ev Mann, Maria Reidelbach, Wendy Saul, Nina Shengold, Cornelia Wathen)

Thank you, Barbara Bash, for the beautiful photo and painting of our beloved Marbletown Community Center.