Support The Hopewell Quarry

Please consider a donation to help us raise $100,000

Greetings from the Quarry,

Now is the perfect time of year to reflect and express gratitude for what brings us joy. Certainly swimming in the Quarry is JOY! This year marked the Friends of Hopewell Quarry’s (FOHQ), a NJ 501(c)(3), second year of stewardship of the Quarry property. Many partners, donors and volunteers contributed to our mission since 2016, to preserve this historic resource as protected open space and, through it, serving the public in perpetuity. We also saw so many new friends as our community expanded. We are so grateful for your support!

Since community members came together in 2016 to preserve the Hopewell Quarry, important objectives have been achieved:

  • Founding the FOHQ as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

  • Securing New Jersey State Green Acres and Mercer County Open Space assistance grants and generous community member donations and loans enabling the purchase of the Hopewell Quarry property in August 2021.

  • Critical and long-overdue facility upgrades in 2022-23 totaling $100,000+ including replastering the kids’ pool, replacing 3 swim rafts, replacing fences, tree maintenance and the Quarry railing.

  • Continued stewardship of the grounds.

  • Making the Quarry more accessible to an economically diverse audience with day pass options and participation in the NJ Family First Discover Program allowing lower income families to receive discounted passes.

  • Quarry Programs include; expanding the number of swimming classes and the ages served; establishing a wellness program; programing outside of the swimming season; educating the community about the biodiversity of the Quarry property with help from partnering organizations.

  • Developing beneficial relationships with the Watershed Institute, and other nonprofits

  • And many more upgrades without changing the rustic charm that we all love!

We will be open for swimming Memorial Day weekend of 2024! We have exciting plans for 2024; adult swim hours, expanded shade areas by planting older trees, and reviving the entrance with plantings. It is a goal to expand swim lessons to adults and children through camps with financial aid.

We faced an unanticipated challenge late summer 2023 due to an algae bloom. Water bodies are seeing an increase in algae blooms because of rising global temperatures and warmer winters. We took precautions per NJDEP guidelines and closed the quarry for swimming for the last 2 weeks of the season. We are working with environmental and water quality consultants to develop a lake management plan. This process includes educating ourselves about our Quarry waters and surrounding watershed to reduce the presence of mitigating factors that encourage algae blooms.

Our fundraising efforts for 2024 are targeting the most urgent emerging issues including;

  • Quarry water quality

  • Implementation of a lake management plan

  • Repair and or replace the water well.

All of these efforts are estimated to cost $100,000.

We need your help! If everyone gives what they can we can reach our goal to properly steward the Quarry. Our goal is to have safe clean water in our beautiful parklike setting for decades to come. You can donate through our website: hopewellquarry.org or scan the QR code. Checks can be mailed to Friends of Hopewell Quarry, P.O. Box 528, Hopewell, NJ 08525. $1,000 donations will entitle these donors to have their names appear on a commemorative raft plaque.

We greatly appreciate your support.

All donations are tax deductible.

Sincerely,

Friends of Hopewell Quarry

We are off to a great start! Thank you to all who have donated!