GREEN MOUNTAIN – When there is a need, a community fills it, as Green Mountain did on Sunday for the Soup Supper Fundraiser. Proceeds will go toward maintenance of the Green Mountain Community Building.

Green Mountain Community Building Board members, including Andy Michels and Deb Cornwell, organized the event. Within the first 45 minutes, almost 40 people went out into the colder weather temperature and strong winds to get a bowl of soup and a cinnamon roll. They were given three options to choose from – chicken noodle, vegetable beef or chili.

Cornwell said the soup meal has taken the place of the annual tractor ride fundraiser.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had decreased attendance for that, so we needed something that would draw in more of the community to get involved in maintaining the building,” she said.

According to Michels, they have seen 15 to 20 less participants in recent years and September would have marked the 20th anniversary of the tractor ride.

The board is considering adding another meal in the future, just to give options, such as a pork loin dinner.

“We’re toying with a June or September deal,” Michels said. “We just haven’t ventured out that far, yet. We want to get some information from the community as to what they would like.”

The board also hosted a soup meal in February to raise money for the building.

“We would like to do some interior stuff – paint the inside, work with the lights, window replacement and with the sewer system coming to Green Mountain, our monthly bills will go up. We’d like to offset that as opposed to raising the rental rate for the building,” Michels said.

According to Cornwell, it annually costs about $5,000 to $6,000 to maintain the community center.

“We don’t want to raise the rates and make it outrageous for anyone to rent the building,” she said. “We want to make sure it’s available for the community to use.”

The board members estimated they average 50 rentals each year, with graduation, Christmas and Thanksgiving seasons being the busiest.

“We have wifi and high speed internet options, so businesses could even have retreats here,” Cornwell said.

Plus, the kitchen comes fully stocked with two stoves and refrigerators, slow cookers, tables and chairs, she added.

“We also have a couple acres for people to set up a volleyball net, and we’ve had people bring bouncy houses for birthday parties,” Cornwell said.

RENTAL INFORMATION

Information about the Green Mountain Community Building can be found on the Facebook page. People who want to rent for an event, such as a family reunion, graduation celebration or wedding, can call or text Cornwell at 641-750-1544. Reservations can also be made by emailing GreenMountainCommunityBuilding@gmail.com or through Facebook Messenger.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or bradstream@timesrepublican.com.