Capital Campaign Remains "Quietly" Active
as U.S. Economy Continues in Doldrums

Two years ago in April 2008, Our Lady of the Wayside parish launched a carefully-planned and very urgently needed capital fundraising campaign with the lofty name of “Preserving Our Foundation, Securing Our Future.” (POF-SOF)

The goal was to raise sufficient funds to repair or replace structures and systems in our aging parish physical plant that had served their useful life, or more. Systems such as the roofs on the church and rectory, boilers in the church and middle school (the Father Mackin Center). Windows, tuck-pointing and pot-hole repairing throughout the parish was a serious problem.

The campaign was carefully thought out and conveyed to parishioners through a parish-wide Town Hall Meeting, weekly announcements in the Sunday Bulletin, newsletters mailed to parishioners and graphic depictions of the problems on display boards in the church lobby and in remarks at Masses.

The POF-SOF campaign got off to a good start and appeared to be moving at a pace that would result in success. The goal was to raise $3 million.

But shortly after we launched the campaign, the U.S. Economy went south and it became obvious that OLW parishioners (and the parish itself) were in for some belt-tightening.

So a decision was made to suspend the marketing of the campaign. We had pledges of just over $1,900,000 at that time – enough to complete some of the major projects but certainly not to accomplish the full agenda. To date, we’ve collected almost $1,400,000.

Now, two years into the more quiet, less visible project, we thought this was a good time to bring you up to date on what has been done and, more importantly, what still needs to be done.

And we need to emphasize that the projects that were on the work list two years ago were included because they needed to be there. If they are still on the “to be done” list, it’s most likely that the level of urgency has risen and will continue to rise until we can repair, replace or otherwise fix what needs to be fixed.

We want to “gently” remind all parishioners that the capital campaign is not over. We hope that if you did make a pledge, that you will try to fulfill it when possible. We are well aware that some families may still be experiencing financial hardships and can’t resume payments at this time. The parish itself continues to experience the same hardships so we understand the various difficulties parish families are experiencing and we wish all of us – including the parish – a return to normalcy as quickly as possible.

If you did not pledge originally but can now, please do so. Pledge cards and payment envelopes are included in the weekly collection envelopes sent to all parishioners. 

We also thought this would be a good time to remind you of the projects we have completed with money from the capital campaign. During the past two years, we have made great progress.

We replaced the heating and air conditioning on the middle school; replaced the church boiler and north air conditioning unit; replaced the church and rectory roofs; replaced the Ridge street school staircase and added a railing to the stairs on the church altar.

And we saved some money by being as careful as possible. The actual cost of these projects came in $148,000 below estimate, in part due to the efforts of many of the committees who helped plan the work. We also had a few “unplanned” asbestos abatement projects, which cost about $29,000.

In Summer 2010 we plan to replace the west parking lot which “doubles” as a playground for the school. Most of the funding will come from the capital campaign. We will also be considering using part of the earnings from the school endowment fund to cover some of the playground costs, since one of the purposes of the endowment is for infrastructure.

Another decision approved by the management council is that some of the capital campaign money be allocated to the “Capital Emergency Fund.” You may remember that the capital campaign earmarked $350,000 of the $3,000,000 campaign target to go to the Capital Emergency Fund. The Capital Emergency Fund was meant to replenish savings as well as fund additional capital projects. This year, approximately $250,000 of this fund will be used to replenish savings due to the unfavorable impact of the economy on our operating budget.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who has supported the campaign and who continues to do so, either financially or through your prayers. This is taking longer than we had planned – or hoped – but our optimism in the parishioners of Our Lady of the Wayside gives us great encouragement.

Parishioners who do not have a pledge card may receive one by calling the Parish Office at 847-253-5353 or the card may be downloaded and printed from this website. The pledge card does not require a cash contribution when it is returned; it represents a commitment to support the capital campaign during the next three years.

Contributions to the campaign may be made in the regular weekend collections. Special envelopes for the Preserving Our Foundation/Securing Our Future campaign are included in the package of weekly envelopes which parishioners should have received.

The envelopes also are addressed for mailing for contributors who would prefer to mail a payment in fulfillment of a pledge.

Complete information about the Preserving Our Foundation/Securing Our Future campaign is available here on the campaign website. Included are complete details of the projects and costs proposed by the Parish Management Council.

Details can be found at these links:

• Power Point Presentation from Town Hall Meeting.

• Photos from the Town Hall Meeting.

• Photos of Numerous Problems in need of repair.

• A Pledge Card.

If you have any questions about the Preserving Our Foundation / Securing Our Future campaign, please send them to us.