Check out our photo gallery, 2016: The Year In Review!
In 2016, Mount Soma continued to break the records of previous years in terms of the numbers of visitors. The average weekend this summer was comparable to our busiest holiday weekends last year!
The growing number of visitors has kept us pushing the limits of our capacity to serve the growing number of guests. Fortunately, we’ve been able to make some improvements to meet these needs. Below are some of 2016’s accomplishments and improvements, many of which were possible thanks to generous donations of both money and volunteer time. Thank you!
- Larger water holding tank for The Visitor Center
- 500 gallon tank & installation
- Snack shop and related equipment
- Construction
- Ice cream freezer – donated
- 2-door drink merchandiser – donated
- New cooking equipment
- New Seva and Work/Study volunteers
- New paint job and carpet in stairwell of Yellow Cottage suites
- Student Union accommodation upgrades (donated heaters, fans, etc.)
- Food donations & meal sponsors for popular Sri Somesvara Temple events
- Thanks to our food sponsors during Shravan Maas, Mahashivaratri, and other auspicious events! In the past year, we’ve had 15 days of food sponsors, each serving 200-400 people.
- Donated smartphone for outreach, marketing communications, and photography.
Upcoming Projects
We’d like to increase our capacity to serve Mount Soma course participants and Sri Somesvara Temple visitors even more. Here are some of the projects that will better enable us to do so:
- Upgrade Student Union accommodations:
- Improve heat and AC system for upstairs and downstairs: $15,000 (long term project)
- Yoga retreat facilities: portable yoga flooring & room dividers for meditation hall
- Desktop computer for outreach and accommodations work at the Visitor Center
- Increase Volunteers: Work/Study and Seva