The Restoring Hope Transplant House is nearing the end of a major hurdle in its effort to provide a temporary home for those who may be coming to Madison for an organ and bone marrow transplants.

Officials said they are about $80,000 away from paying off the $550,000 first mortgage on the home. The initial loan must be paid before we acquire a construction and remodeling loan to make the improvement needed to function as home for those in need.

Currently the home has 10 rooms, but when complete it will offer 16 rooms with private bathrooms. In order to do that they needed that a second loan and to get that they need the equity paying off that first mortgage will bring.

"We are paying off the mortgage as we need to operate without large debt margins so that our focus is on transplant patients and their families instead of debt." said Executive Director Cindy Herbst.  "We need to be viable in any economy."

The city of Middleton has a pair of options to get outside while staying cool.

There's the Splash Pad in Lakeview Park.  The water playground is fully accessible, extremely safe for all ages and, best of all, free admission.

Plus, the Walter R. Bauman Aquatic Center is an outdoor facility, featuring the latest in aquatic amenities. The center has 11,510 square feet of water surface, holds 345,580 gallons of water and has a patron capacity of 724 people.  No doubt it will be near capacity throughout the week.

If you know of other outdoor options to stay cool in your community, please tell us about them in our comment section!

The Middleton Lions Club will hold a benefit event for the Restoring Hope Transplant House on July 10 at Capital Brewery from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

All money raised will go towards the house in Middleton that is working toward opening its doors.

The facility's goal will be to offer high quality, affordable accommodations for transplant patients and their adult family members and caregivers.

The donation asked to attend the event is whatever cash people would like to donate.