Buoyed by a fundraising campaign that exceeded its goals, the "Houston Needs a Swimming Hole" idea now floats to the next level.
Team members Monte Large, Evan O'Neil and New Living founder Jeff Kaplan, who originated the idea to construct a natural public swimming pool in the Bayou City, have linked up with Houston Tomorrow to continue their fundraising and research efforts just as the initial Kickstarter drive for the project ended late Friday afternoon.
Houston Tomorrow is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Houston region.
“We measure health and happiness as performance indicators for quality of life. This project promises to deliver both.”
“We think this is a fabulous project and we want to do everything we can to help make it happen,” David Crossley, president of Houston Tomorrow, said in a statement. “We measure health and happiness as performance indicators for quality of life. This project promises to deliver both.”
More than 345 backers took the big plunge by donating over $33,000 in the Kickstarter campaign to conduct a feasibility study, surpassing the goal of $30,000.
The idea was launched in November when the trio proposed a natural public swimming spot similar to Bondi Iceberg in Sydney, Streets Beach in Brisband, and a handful of other international man-made swimming destinations. The campaign quickly receiving waves of support from civic leaders and organizations, including the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, the Greater East End District, the city of Houston Sustainability Office and the Shell Center for Sustainability at Rice University.
In the clever Kickstarter campaign, the team offered such fun incentives as inflatable beach balls with the "Houston Needs a Swimming Hole" logo on them, sunglasses, tank tops, tote bags, beach towels, first swim tickets and even lifetime memberships delivered at the grand opening estimated in May 2017.
Backers who pledged $100 or more are invited to an exclusive slip-n-slide party in April with details to be announced soon.
The team posted this graphic on its Facebook page right after the initial $30,000 goal was reached.
