A fundraising effort is underway to support an exterior painting project at the historic Zeeland Hall.

In 2015, Zeeland made a commitment to preserve and maintain the hall by matching funding from the State Historical Society of North Dakota for replacement of a deteriorating roof.

Last year, the community achieved listing of the hall on the National Register of Historic Places. Zeeland celebrated the listing with a dinner and program in the hall that involved 250 participants.

Now, in 2017, Zeeland seeks to put a new face on the old hall by repainting the entire exterior.

The Center for Heritage Renewal, North Dakota State University, has made a commitment to assisting the community by bringing troops — service learning History students from NDSU who will spend the weekend of Oct. 14-15 alongside community members, painting the hall.

Funding is sought to transport van loads of students to Zeeland, support them while on site, and purchase materials needed for the work.

The effort is endorsed by the town of Zeeland and by the Tri-County Tourism Alliance, an organization devoted to heritage tourism in German-Russian Country. The TCTA will receive and administer contributions for the work at Zeeland Hall.

Visit http://bit.ly/2vYDGvr for more information, or to provide financial support.