GR city pool backers meet $175k goal

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Supporters hoping to raise $175,000 to open two Grand Rapids city pools this summer have met their goal, the executive director of Friends of Grand Rapids Parks told 24 Hour News 8 late Friday afternoon.

"We're really overwhelmed by the generosity of this community and their commitment to parks and pools," executive director Steve Faber said. "Today, we saw both the grassroots and the grasstops show up in their giving. And we're just really grateful."

Backers have raised $177,228, according to the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks website. Donations made beyond the $175,000 goal will remain in a fund for pools, Faber said.

The plan is to use the money to open pools at Briggs and Martin Luther King parks. Businessman Bob Sullivan pledged the funds needed to open the pool at Richmond Park.

Just a few hours earlier Friday afternoon, the posted fund-raising total was roughly $112,000. Despite the major donations landed Friday, Faber said 85 percent of contributors have given $100 or less.