AURORA, Ind. — Roughly 60 years ago, the City of Aurora built their city pool through the help of community members in the city who pitched in to raise the money necessary to make it happen.
Now, decades later, the city is hoping the community will rally again to replace the pool, which is so old it needs fully replacing rather than repairs. The total estimated cost of replacing the pool is around $1 million and the city is hoping to chip away at that sum through a series of fundraising efforts.
On Saturday, dozens of people participated in a basketball tournament; Money raised by those playing in the games and sponsorships paid for by local businesses will go toward the fund for the pool. The town held another basketball tournament last weekend and plans to have an additional one on March 27.
"We knew it wouldn't be a huge fundraiser," said Denise Rose, director of parks and recreation for the City of Aurora. "We need to raise a million dollars, but the idea of creating several community events that allowed the city of Aurora -- especially coming as we loosen restrictions from COVID and giving people a chance to come together as a community to raise the money -- to me, seemed important."
The basketball tournament event has already helped raise more than $12,000 toward the new pool, but there's a long way to go to reach the $1 million needed.
The city expected around a dozen teams to sign up for Saturday's tournament, but said the community support has been so strong that 20 teams participated. Other locally-focused fundraising events are on the horizon, like car washes, wrestling matches, cornhole tournaments and euchre nights.
