The Rooted Carrot Co-op Market’s Capital Campaign Investment Committee is responsible for raising roughly two-thirds of the total cost of opening a new grocery store, which is around $3 million. The good news is that we’re almost halfway to our campaign goal!
The other good news is that we are pleased to welcome additional community members to this dream team to help raise the additional funds. The plan is to have another active campaign phase right after a new site is secured (keep those fingers crossed!). Once there, we need to be “all hands on deck,” since securing member loans and community donations is a lot of work. The committee has greater capacity to do that thanks to our three new volunteers:
GRETTA BERGHAMMER
Gretta grew up in Milwaukee, received her MFA in Theatre from UT-Austin, and taught for a year in New Hampshire before heading to Cedar Falls in 1984 to join the theatre faculty at the University of Northern Iowa. Since this past summer, Gretta has been looking for an opportunity that would enlarge her experiences in the Cedar Valley beyond the arts, education, and youth theatre. Contributing to the development of a local co-op is the start of that adventure!
KIRSTEN JEGSEN
A hospitality consulting job brought Kirsten to Cedar Falls in 2014, which later turned into a permanent move to the Cedar Valley from the Central Coast of California. Kirsten is currently an Ambassador with Grow Cedar Valley, serving on a couple of their committees, and is a graduate of the Grow Cedar Valley Leadership Institute. Also, she’s an active member of Cedar Falls Lion’s Club and past committee member of Cedar Falls Tourism Bureau’s marketing committee and promotions committee at Community Main Street Cedar Falls. In her spare time, she’s an avid cyclist and enjoys cooking and knitting.
BETH STRIKE
Beth serves as Director of Creative Services and Communications with Central Rivers Area Education Agency. In addition to her role overseeing Creative Services, she serves as an advisor to local school administrators in the areas of news media relations, internal communication, crisis communication, digital communication, and communication plan development. Beth and her husband, Darrin, have two daughters and have lived in Cedar Falls since 2018. When not working, Beth and her family enjoy biking, boating, cooking, and music concerts.
There’s room on the committee for you, too! If you want to help with this effort and help us reach our goal more quickly, here are some ways to do so:
- Contribute. Make a loan (members only) or donation (anyone!). Or consider increasing your original contribution! Please contact us for details on how you can support this effort.
- Volunteer. We are recruiting a few more volunteers for various positions in the campaign (many of which don’t involve asking anyone for money!). If you’re interested, please sign up to volunteer here.
- Tell your story. Share the reasons why you contributed with friends and neighbors and social media contacts. As an owner of this business, you can help us reach our goal!
Thanks for everyone’s support so far. Please contact Committee Co-chair Tom Wickersham if you have any questions.