The online fundraising campaign to save the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville from permanently closing has raised 40% of its goal since launching on Tuesday. Support for the iconic Alabama institution has come from all 50 states.
The center announced on Monday that it needs $1,500,000 in public support or it will be forced to permanently close at the end of October. The organization’s leadership has said the “coronavirus pandemic devastated our revenue stream.”
So far, the online fundraising effort has raised $596,859 since going live on Tuesday morning.
“Donors from all 50 states, Washington D.C., the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and 26 countries outside of the US and its territories have contributed to #SaveSpaceCamp,” the Space and Rocket Center tweeted on Thursday.
“We are moving forward but have a long way to go. Please continue to donate and share,” the facility added.
An estimated 44,000 students attended space camp in 2019, and hundreds of thousands of American schoolchildren have enjoyed the program in recent decades.
Vice President Mike Pence visited the Space and Rocket Center in 2019, saying in part, “[W]ith the courage and ingenuity of this new generation of explorers, and with God’s help, that America will once against astonish the world with the heights we reach and the wonder we achieve. And we will lead the world in human space exploration once again.”
Contributions can be given at SaveSpaceCamp.com.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
