Preserve Race Brook
Donation protected
Race Brook Lodge is a place where people gather to listen to the land and the water, to connect more deeply with their authentic purpose, and to find ways to live in harmony with the Earth. Our family has cultivated a holistic vision of hospitality on this land for nearly 30 years, and 2020 has tested our resolve more than any other year. The financial and logistical challenges of navigating the pandemic have been daunting, yet our experience has reaffirmed our commitment, and revealed the true value of what we have to offer. Throughout this time, we have seen how powerfully the land can help visitors relax and recuperate in a stressful time, and we are inspired more than ever to continue and evolve our vision for Race Brook. At the same time the pandemic has put us in a very difficult financial situation. Now we are reaching out to our community to raise $125,000 to keep us afloat through the winter, and to make a few urgent improvements. Please help us ensure that Race Brook Lodge can continue to provide sanctuary when it’s needed most!
RACE BROOK LODGE
Race Brook Lodge is a unique vision of hospitality. It is a safe and welcoming place for all to celebrate life, relax, heal, and collaborate. With an emphasis on creativity, community, and reverence for nature, our style is informal yet intentional. We strive for the perfect balance of a casual rough-around-the-edges feel that puts people at ease, with a level of sophistication that makes guests feel comfortable and nourished. The land is situated at the foot of the Taconic range in the southern Berkshire hills, surrounded by protected land with hiking trails through tranquil forests. We are grateful for an abundance of pure sacred water, flowing from the Earth in the form of waterfalls, springs and of course, the brook. Along the forest paths, we can feel the presence of the Mohican-Munsee people who lived in harmony with this land for hundreds of years. We get a sense of the deep reverence they felt for the earth and for the water, and the respect that they embodied with each breath. We are inspired by their memory to align our priorities with the elements and energies that ultimately sustain us, looking to the past to chart a sustainable path forward.
OUR STORY
Our family journey on this land started in the early ‘90s. My father, Dave sought a quiet refuge and settled in an old converted barn by a babbling brook. Waiting for his kids to return from far-flung lands, he decided to rent some of the extra rooms. My brother Mike showed up, and together they grew the operation to 30 guest rooms, The Stagecoach Tavern restaurant, a retreat center, wedding venue and performance space. When I returned to the Berkshires in 2012, we added a farm and the Race Mountain House property with 80 acres of mountainside wilderness. Then Saadia and I were brought together through a shared interest in healing and community, and an appreciation for diversity of people, cultures and ideas. We were married here in 2016, and began to infuse Race Brook Lodge with a holistic perspective on wellness, sustainability and creativity. Moving forward, we seek to further align our operation with our values, and to preserve this land for our daughters to grow up on, and for all our guests to enjoy. We feel that this sacred land wants to be of service, to support our healing, and our survival on this planet.
THE COVID CONUNDRUM
We are grateful that our family has remained in good health, and in many ways 2020 was a beautiful year at Race Brook. It has been rewarding to offer our visitors a rejuvenating escape from the city, or a sublime fireside dining experience in the midst of the chaos and stress. We can see the weight lifted from their shoulders and hearts when they return from a short hike or a swing in a hammock. This year has reaffirmed our understanding that we provide an “essential service” and that this land has a vital role to play in a larger story. We are reminded of why we are here in the first place, and called to expand our offerings and enable more people to engage with nature here.
At the same time, our immediate financial outlook is troubling. Our revenue has been less than 40% compared to last year, mostly due to lost group business. Our beloved, but aging buildings and facilities are costly to operate and maintain, and it’s difficult to cut expenses enough to get by. In addition, there are vital upgrades that need to be made to continue safely and sustainably in the spring. Most notably, we need a new boiler for the heating system in our Coach House. The ancient oil-burner has finally, and definitively, retired itself, AND it’s filled with asbestos that needs to be removed! Emergency government funds helped us stay open through the summer and fall, but now we are calling on our community for support.
PLEASE HELP
We are seeking your support to raise $125,000. These funds will help us stay afloat through the winter and make some vital improvements to ensure that Race Brook can continue to provide sanctuary for visitors and local residents. If you can’t support us with a donation, please help by following our journey on social media, or by sharing our story.
Here’s the estimated breakdown of our needs to get us through until May 2021:
-Utilities: $42,000
-Debt Service: $18,000
-Insurance: $8,000
-Property Taxes: $13,000
-Coach House boiler removal and replacement: $24,500
-Basic Administrative Expenses: $4,500
-Repairs & Improvements (labor & materials): $10,000
In addition, we will take this opportunity to honor the water and create spaces on the trails where people can engage more deeply with the land.
-Spring Water Temple: $5,000
-Trailside pavilions and meeting spaces: $3,000
WHERE WE ARE GOING
We are committed to evolving our presence on this land to further align our vision with our values. Foremost in this effort will be to reduce our ecological footprint and energy consumption, and to develop our farm and other agricultural facilities to provide as much as we can for ourselves and our guests on-site. Race Brook Lodge is a place where people look to nature to work through important challenges inside of ourselves, within our communities and in our relationship to the Earth. We want to allow this land to support and catalyze people and organizations who are working towards solutions to urgent issues like environmental conservation, social and economic justice, food security, and political reform. In support of this vision, it is vital that we have comfortable, functional, well-designed spaces and facilities that make people feel good, and facilitate collaboration and creative thinking. It’s also from this perspective that we curate musical events, dance and other creative and celebratory activities to soothe and inspire us in pursuit of their purpose. We invite you to join us on this journey.
Thanks so much for reading until the end!
With Love and Appreciation,
Casey Meade Rothstein-Fitzpatrick
RACE BROOK LODGE
Race Brook Lodge is a unique vision of hospitality. It is a safe and welcoming place for all to celebrate life, relax, heal, and collaborate. With an emphasis on creativity, community, and reverence for nature, our style is informal yet intentional. We strive for the perfect balance of a casual rough-around-the-edges feel that puts people at ease, with a level of sophistication that makes guests feel comfortable and nourished. The land is situated at the foot of the Taconic range in the southern Berkshire hills, surrounded by protected land with hiking trails through tranquil forests. We are grateful for an abundance of pure sacred water, flowing from the Earth in the form of waterfalls, springs and of course, the brook. Along the forest paths, we can feel the presence of the Mohican-Munsee people who lived in harmony with this land for hundreds of years. We get a sense of the deep reverence they felt for the earth and for the water, and the respect that they embodied with each breath. We are inspired by their memory to align our priorities with the elements and energies that ultimately sustain us, looking to the past to chart a sustainable path forward.
OUR STORY
Our family journey on this land started in the early ‘90s. My father, Dave sought a quiet refuge and settled in an old converted barn by a babbling brook. Waiting for his kids to return from far-flung lands, he decided to rent some of the extra rooms. My brother Mike showed up, and together they grew the operation to 30 guest rooms, The Stagecoach Tavern restaurant, a retreat center, wedding venue and performance space. When I returned to the Berkshires in 2012, we added a farm and the Race Mountain House property with 80 acres of mountainside wilderness. Then Saadia and I were brought together through a shared interest in healing and community, and an appreciation for diversity of people, cultures and ideas. We were married here in 2016, and began to infuse Race Brook Lodge with a holistic perspective on wellness, sustainability and creativity. Moving forward, we seek to further align our operation with our values, and to preserve this land for our daughters to grow up on, and for all our guests to enjoy. We feel that this sacred land wants to be of service, to support our healing, and our survival on this planet.
THE COVID CONUNDRUM
We are grateful that our family has remained in good health, and in many ways 2020 was a beautiful year at Race Brook. It has been rewarding to offer our visitors a rejuvenating escape from the city, or a sublime fireside dining experience in the midst of the chaos and stress. We can see the weight lifted from their shoulders and hearts when they return from a short hike or a swing in a hammock. This year has reaffirmed our understanding that we provide an “essential service” and that this land has a vital role to play in a larger story. We are reminded of why we are here in the first place, and called to expand our offerings and enable more people to engage with nature here.
At the same time, our immediate financial outlook is troubling. Our revenue has been less than 40% compared to last year, mostly due to lost group business. Our beloved, but aging buildings and facilities are costly to operate and maintain, and it’s difficult to cut expenses enough to get by. In addition, there are vital upgrades that need to be made to continue safely and sustainably in the spring. Most notably, we need a new boiler for the heating system in our Coach House. The ancient oil-burner has finally, and definitively, retired itself, AND it’s filled with asbestos that needs to be removed! Emergency government funds helped us stay open through the summer and fall, but now we are calling on our community for support.
PLEASE HELP
We are seeking your support to raise $125,000. These funds will help us stay afloat through the winter and make some vital improvements to ensure that Race Brook can continue to provide sanctuary for visitors and local residents. If you can’t support us with a donation, please help by following our journey on social media, or by sharing our story.
Here’s the estimated breakdown of our needs to get us through until May 2021:
-Utilities: $42,000
-Debt Service: $18,000
-Insurance: $8,000
-Property Taxes: $13,000
-Coach House boiler removal and replacement: $24,500
-Basic Administrative Expenses: $4,500
-Repairs & Improvements (labor & materials): $10,000
In addition, we will take this opportunity to honor the water and create spaces on the trails where people can engage more deeply with the land.
-Spring Water Temple: $5,000
-Trailside pavilions and meeting spaces: $3,000
WHERE WE ARE GOING
We are committed to evolving our presence on this land to further align our vision with our values. Foremost in this effort will be to reduce our ecological footprint and energy consumption, and to develop our farm and other agricultural facilities to provide as much as we can for ourselves and our guests on-site. Race Brook Lodge is a place where people look to nature to work through important challenges inside of ourselves, within our communities and in our relationship to the Earth. We want to allow this land to support and catalyze people and organizations who are working towards solutions to urgent issues like environmental conservation, social and economic justice, food security, and political reform. In support of this vision, it is vital that we have comfortable, functional, well-designed spaces and facilities that make people feel good, and facilitate collaboration and creative thinking. It’s also from this perspective that we curate musical events, dance and other creative and celebratory activities to soothe and inspire us in pursuit of their purpose. We invite you to join us on this journey.
Thanks so much for reading until the end!
With Love and Appreciation,
Casey Meade Rothstein-Fitzpatrick
Co-organizers (3)
Casey Rothstein-Fitzpatrick
Organizer
Sheffield, MA
Saadia Khan
Co-organizer
Renee P
Co-organizer