The iQuilt Partnership has just two weeks left to raise $55,000 and reach its goal of $230,000 — enough money to open and operate Winterfest Hartford this winter season.
Advocates for the free outdoor skating rink in Bushnell Park have raised $175,000 so far. If fundraising efforts are successful, the eighth year of free daily skating, free skate rentals, and free learn-to-skate classes will begin on Nov. 24 and run through Jan. 2, said Jackie Mandyck, managing director of the iQuilt Partnership.
For the past two years, due to cuts in the city’s budget, the rink lost a significant portion of its funding. Last year corporations, foundations and individuals chipped in to save Winterfest and organizers are hopeful that the same will happen again this year.
Major corporations and businesses of all sizes have donated, in addition to more than 70 individuals, Mandyck said.
She called donors “Hartford’s heroes.” They include Travelers, LAZ Parking, The Hartford, Hartford Steam Boiler/Munich Re, Niagara Bottling, United Technologies Corp., Aetna, Bank of America, Lincoln Financial Group employees and many others.
To donate visit www.winterfesthartford.com or mail a check to Winterfest Hartford, c/o The iQuilt Partnership, 31 Pratt Street, 5th Floor, Hartford, CT 06103.
