Dear friends of Astoria,
During this season of gratitude, I thank you for your continued support for Astoria, especially since the news of our unexpected closure due to the accident on the historic red bridge last week. Many of you have reached out to offer support, and we feel the love. Astoria exists because of community support, and we look forward to reopening as soon as possible to once again offer accessible, welcoming and inspiring experiences that improve livability, health and wellbeing. Whether that is next week or next year, our staff is planning to continue our purposeful programs and partnerships to further our mission for years to come.
The neighborhood’s bridge is owned by an Internal Service District board elected by residents, and this group is working with both diligence and urgency to come up with a solution. We hope to have a plan to share with you soon. For now, we remain dedicated to supporting public safety and will continue to follow the recommendations of the US Forest Service to prevent public access via the emergency route to Astoria.
Astoria’s future remains bright and we know we will continue to positively impact community health through inspiring experiences in nature for generations to come. We continue to focus on how we will change the way residents access direct health benefits, social connection and immersion in the outdoors, and we know this change is a long-term solution.
Our fiscal year ends on December 31st, and we are asking you to remember Astoria in your year-end giving. We have seen the power of community giving – through our initial campaign and more recently our cold plunge campaign; both these efforts were successful because of donors of all sizes, from $1 to over $1,000,000. Your help is critical to our ability to stay the course during this difficult time. Thank you for considering a gift today.
Happy holidays and my sincerest gratitude,
Paige
