New foundation helps fund recreation in Montrose

The Montrose Recreation District is getting some financial help. It's all thanks to a new foundation that was started by a group of local residents.

A failed sales tax measure on last spring's ballot put the dream of a new recreation center in jeopardy. Now, a group of citizens has taken the issue upon themselves starting their own foundation to help raise money. One of the main goals is to provide a financial boost to needy kids.

"We want to increase the scholarship budget. We’ve got a pretty limited budget with the Montrose Recreation District right now. We want to improve the access for more kids, to allow them to play the sports that they want to" explained Lori Sharp, Board President of the Montrose Recreation Foundation.

To give the foundation a jump start, a private donor has chipped in $10,000.

"It's anonymous so I’m not sure who the person is but the word is they care a lot about recreation expansion and have given us the option to use that money how we best see fit" said Sharp.

Sharp says that every donation helps get kids involved in sports no matter how big or small the donation is.

"The parents are responsible to pay half, so we need to raise the other half. So if we get twenty dollar donations a kid can play soccer" explained Sharp.

Officials believe that getting kids involved in sports will lead them to a better lifestyle.

"We really want to keep them active at a young age because when they start those habits early on they continue them for life and we think that's really important in society" said Sharp.

Those from the Montrose Recreation District say the foundation will be a huge partner in helping provide for the community.

"They will really help bring in additional resources to help us achieve that mission and it's really inspiring that there's so many passionate citizens that are volunteering their time" said Ken Sherbenou, Executive Director for the Montrose Recreation District.

The foundation is holding several fundraisers over the next couple of weeks. If you'd like to attend one or make a donation directly to the foundation, you can get more information by clicking here.