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Our Mission
Lake Paran Community Center promotes the well being of individuals, the community and the natural landscape through educational and recreational experiences. We foster belonging by hosting and maintaining a welcoming space for all to gather.
Our Story
Paran Recreations was established in 1960 by a group of North Bennington residents who seized the opportunity to purchase six acres along the Paran shoreline for swimming and recreational purposes. Within three weeks, the community united to raise $10,000 for the purchase of the land. Community has been at the heart of Lake Paran Recreations. It serves as a gathering place in the summer but also in the off-season for community members to recreate and make deep connections with the beauty of the lake and surrounding watershed
Our Staff
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Our Board
Alisa Del Tufo- Chair
Melinda Paquin- Treasurer
Jackie Thomson- Secretary
Stuart Aldrich
Bill Camadara
Sarah Crosier
Loraine Donley
Bailey Fox
Pam Hubbs
Emily Hunter
Laurie Jesseman
John Lamson
Megan Ramona
Julia Stifler
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Our Funding
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Paran Recreations is a community supported not for profit organization. We got our start through the generosity of several community members who pooled funds to purchase the property back in 1963. Since then, we have been led by a small paid staff and lots of volunteers including our board of directors.
The money that we use to run our programs and maintain our property has come from a diverse array of sources: small grants from North Bennington and Shaftsbury, private foundations such as the Vermont Community Foundation and a host of individual citizens who have consistently and generously supported us over the past 62 years with memberships and contributions.
Something important has recently changed for us related to our funding. There is no longer an admission fee for folks coming to the lake! We are happy and excited to have this wonderful resource even more accessible than it has been in the past. It does mean that we will be more dependent upon the generosity of our citizens to help us cover our costs in other ways. One way is to attend events and make a donation or to volunteer. Another way is to contribute to our new Day BUY Day campaign where you can help keep our lights on and the wonderful programming running. Lake Paran is a vital resource for all of us; we hope that you will contribute keeping us at the center of the life of our community.
