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In the past, minimum donations were established and pro-rated according to demand in themost popular months, in an effort to offer a full range of services and amenities to our supporter-guests and maximize our ability to maintain Goose Rocks for future generations. However, after three years of allowing donation-based keeper's experiences, we have realized that ongoing restoration of Goose Rocks cannot occur according to schedule (i.e., in the summer months) if the lighthouse is constantly occupied. It has also become apparent that a few hundred dollars, while tremendously appreciated, barely covers the cost of the experience; sadly, with rising costs of staffing, boat maintenance and fuel, offshore housekeeping and laundry, Beacon only realizes 20% of each donation towards its preservation funds. Our contractors and volunteers are frustrated because they can't have a long enough stretch of time to complete a project with keepers coming and going every few days. Although keepers' experiences have traditionally been our way of saying “thank you” for your contribution and support, a cost-benefit analysis indicates that Beacon needs to temporarily cut back the number of stays for 2011, empahasize our serious need for restoration funds, and get the Goose Rocks solar power system, kitchen, and bathroom finished. We hope to return to our "sliding scale" donation scheme in 2012. For summer 2011, we are launching campaign dubbed "Thirty Points of Light." Our goal is to find thirty angels willing to donate a minimum of $1000 for a keeper's experience. By limiting the number of stays to only 30, and establishing a $1000 donation as the benchmark for our committed keepers, we can finally purchase the much-needed equipment and contractor-labor needed to complete the Goose Rocks preservation project. Remember, your donation is tax-deductible, and it is important that keepers truly understand that each donation is exactly that: you are not buying accommodation, you are preserving a lighthouse. A generous and charitable ethos is the key to enjoying a wonderful experience at Goose Rocks. Remember, your $1000 donation entitles a party of six (6) family and/or friends to enjoy Goose Rocks for up to 24 hours on any available date from May through October 2011. See our “Frequently Asked Questions” for all the details about getting to Goose Rocks and how Goose Rock supporters are able to avail themselves of a Goose Rocks visit. Depending on the time of summer 2011 you choose to visit Goose Rocks, the solar power system and kitch/bathroom installations may or may not be completed. The later in the season you schedule a keeper's stay, the more likely it is that additional amenities will be available. View our new online calendar for Goose Rocks availability! Help us FINALLY fund and finish our renovation project! During this reconfiguring of electric and plumbing and installation of new solar and battery system, the Goose Rocks keeper's experiences will be more "camper style" stay with only oil lamps and flashlights for lighting, bottled water for drinking, Weber grill for cooking, cooler for refrigerator, and down comforters for warmth. Goose Rocks now has a composting toilet. If you're up for the quasi-camper challenge, enjoy Goose Rocks' four comfortable and well-furnished upper level rooms and three catwalk decks while the basement-keep is mostly "off limits" during restoration, which we hope to have completed by the end of June IF we are able to get 30 keepers to donate $1,000 each by May 2011. All donations for 2011 go toward the installation of our new solar panel array, marine wind turbine, and desalinization system, a project conducted as part of our Green Light Academy (www.GreenLightAcademy.org) curriculum to teach "green collar" skills and technology to high school students. Please note: your boat transportation from North Haven to the lighthouse, and overnight visit at Goose Rocks, includes up to six people. Please add $200 for each additional keeper (up to 8 maximum with prior permission). MAY: May visits are often, by necessity, based on “short-notice” arrangement. May is a month which is often cold, and weather and sea conditions will dictate our ability to safely transport visitors to Goose Rocks. If you want to visit in May, please be flexible with your dates or willing to book last-minute as conditions allow; please note that the Memorial Day weekend (Saturday through Monday) is priced separately. SEPTEMBER: September can be a really gorgeous time of year; the crowds have died down but the parade of sailboats and windjammers is still in full effect in the Thorofare. Cooler mornings and evenings give way to bright sunny days in the 70s, but the water is often still warm enough for a swim. The sunsets are still rosey, and moon- and star-gazing is often at its best this time of year. LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Minimum donation of $3,000 (3 day stay) COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND: Minimum donation of $2500 (3 day stay) OCTOBER: Like May, October can be a tempermental month for weather, with nor’easter winds and even hurricanes possible as climate cools. Still, it is an extremely mild and beautiful time of year to enjoy the changing seasons, colorful foliage, and fading light, so for the adventurous who enjoy solitude we try to accommodate flexible visitors as long as weather and sea conditions permit. The broad scarlet sunsets are some of the most colorful of the year. Copyright ©2011 Beacon Preservation, Inc. |
