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The Sid and Karen DeBoer Foundation announced a $500,000 matching grant Monday to the Mt. Ashland Ski Area, boosting a $1.4 million fundraising campaign to remodel the ski lodge. “We wanted to make this public that there is a match. We need to get this done for our community and our kids and the older people,” said Sid DeBoer at a Tuesday press conference. “We want Mt. Ashland to be there. We need to get it from everybody who uses the place and some other people.” Remodeling will include an addition of 1,000 square feet of indoor space by enclosing little-used decks, relocation of the rental shop into the lodge basement, roof replacement, reorientation of the food services operation and other upgrades. Architecture of the current building will be retained in the new portions. The DeBoers' foundation contribution will come through the Oregon Community Foundation, said Sid DeBoer, who is chairman of the Lithia Motors board. The support is independent of that from Lithia Motors, which has been an ongoing contributor to Mt. Ashland’s operation. “This is an investment in our infrastructure. Our board is committed to being here for generations,” said Darrel Jarvis, Mt. Ashland Association board president. “We’ll raise the money.” Work would begin in early May and be complete by October. About $90,000 already has been raised toward the project and that will be matched by the DeBoer grant. A donation of $25,000 came from Alan and Rebecca DeBoer, and $20,000 came from the Oregon Community Foundation, said Mt. Ashland Development Director Michael Stringer. The campaign was announced in late December. “We’re seeing people double and triple their previous gifts,” said Stringer. “We’re seeing people who haven’t given since the (2012) parking lot funding.” Another board goal is to build a reserve of $1 million to tide the area over when bad snow years come, said Jarvis. Three seasons ago, Mt. Ashland didn’t open because of little snowfall. This season the ski area has counted 61,000 guests compared to 68,000 for all of 2015-2016. “We are on the path to sustainability, where we can survive without donations,” said Jarvis. But the current campaign is about capital projects, not operations, he said. Relocation of the rental shop to the lodge will mean that first-time skiers and boarders can get their equipment right next to the beginner's slope rather than having to carry it a couple hundred yards from the current location. Expansion of the lodge will help reduce overcrowding on busy days. “These improvements of the lodge and rental shop are what we need to keep the mountain sustainable,” said General Manager Hiram Towle. More convenient first-timer access will help to nurture the next generation of mountain users, he said. “I used to ski. I never went down the bowl,” said DeBoer. He started skiing at Mt. Ashland in the 1960s, and his last visit was a few years ago at night. Children of family members ski the area, he noted. Mt. Ashland is a nonprofit owned and operated by the Mt. Ashland Association, which was created 25 years ago when community members joined together to raise $1.7 million to purchase the area and continue operation. Donations can be made at www.mtashland.com . — Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at tboomwriter @gmail.com.