An 88-year-old Carroll woman has raced to be the first person to earn the chance to rappel from the VINE Faith in Action building in Mankato, Minn. Margaret Gronstal took on a fundraising challenge with the help of her granddaughter, Meghan Velasquez, who is the Director of Guest Experience for VINE. The peer-to-peer fundraiser challenged individuals to raise money to help finish the fifth floor of the VINE adult community center. In exchange, the first 92 to reach $1,000 would get to rappel down the building on April 29, 2017. Gronstal opened her account on Nov. 13, and it took her only 10 days from there to reach her goal on Nov. 22. Velasquez said she knew her grandmother would have no trouble at all reaching her goal, she just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. “I guess she has a lot of family and friends who want to see her go off a building,” she joked. Gronstal herself said, “At 88 years old, if I haven’t been over the edge before, I figured now is the time.” VINE Faith in Action is a Minnesota-based interfaith care organization that serves the elderly, those with disabilities as well as individuals and families who are facing difficult life situations.
