The Guthrie Center School District is getting a boost to reach their $160,000 goal for equipment in their new fitness center that’s under construction.

Guthrie County State Bank recently announced a $50,000 matching donation program, in which for each dollar donated the bank will match for up to $25,000 for the fundraiser. The two-story weightroom and fitness center addition being added to the southwest side of the high school is being funded by Secure an Advanced Vision for Education funds, while the activities department led by Activities Director Cody Matthewson have taken charge with raising the funds needed to equip the building with weights, machines, turf, and other amenities.

Matthewson thanks GCSB CEO Mike Underwood for approaching him with the fundraiser, “Mike’s a graduate of Guthrie Center, he’s been here and helped out with athletics and just been a face that’s been around a lot. Him and Barry Monaghan who’s also been a huge supporter of our athletics and everything, fine arts, and all extracurricular activities within our schools. They kind of put their heads together and came up with an amount and like I said, we’re very appreciative of that and it shows the amount of support we have within our communities and the support that everybody has for these kids and what we’re trying to accomplish with our extracurricular activities.”

Matthewson appreciates the public’s support in helping reach their fundraising goal with this matching challenge, and donations can either be made through the GCSB drive-through window, mailing to: AC/GC School District, ATTN: Equipment, 906 School Street, Guthrie Center, Iowa, 50115, or online. You can learn more here.