- Port Aransas Art Center
- Mark Grosse donated $650,000
- Using donation to pay off mortgage and then expand the art center three thousand square feet
- Port Aransas residents are very excited
One local man has been very successful in Port Aransas over the 77 year span of his life and he wanted to share some of his fortune with the Port Aransas Art Center.
Mark Grosse made a large donation of $650,000 to the Art Center to help expand it.
John Morris, the president of the Art Center Board of Directors expressed his gratitude for Grosse and his generous contribution.
“My first thing was just, wow. No words could describe it. I've known Mark for the whole time I’ve lived in Port A... He's been a pillar in the community and a giving soul," Morris said.
Grosse has cancer and he wanted to share his wealth with the Port Aransas community while he's still here.
"I thought it would be nice to share my success with the community and the town," Grosse said.
Grosse feels an emotional connection with the Art Center because his first office, many years ago, was right down the street and he would visit often.
The Port Aransas Art Center are planning to use the donation to first, pay off the mortgage, then to expand the Art Center by 3,000 square feet. This will make room for more art exhibits, more classrooms for artists to learn in, and more administrative room for staff.
The Art Center has about 300 member artists and they are looking forward to having more room to display their work.
The expansion plan is still being prepared and the expansions are expected to be complete within the next five years.
Grosse's donation was an amazing start, but the Port Aransas Art Center is a nonprofit organization that runs solely off of donations. They will be continuing to hold fundraisers and events, and they are always looking for volunteers.
“Once I was able to help financially on things, that’s the easy part for me. It’s the volunteers that really do the heavy lifting," Grosse said.
The Port Aransas Art Center is so thankful for this large donation and they are looking forward to strengthening this organization that the community values so much.
Some upcoming fund raising events going on at the Art Center are the Holiday Market at the Civic Center on Nov. 24 and 35 and the First Friday Art Show at the Art Center on Dec. 1.
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