OLW Campaign

Our Lady of the Wayside
Catholic Church
434 W. Park St.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
847-253-5353

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Capital Campaign Happenings
April 13 Open House

Our Lady of the Wayside’s 2008 Capital Campaign, Preserving Our Foundation / Securing Our Future, was officially launched by Father Ed Fialkowski at all weekend masses April 12 and 13. In addition to his announcement at the Masses, Father Ed also spoke at a parish-wide Open House in the Father Mackin Center later Sunday afternoon.

As if to dramatize Wayside’s need to repair some of the parish’s aging infrastructure, a power failure in a nearby generator kept the Mackin Center gym almost in the dark. Candles, and a bright sun descending in the western sky, provided enough light for socializing, and for learning about the needs to be met by the $3 million project.

Most striking evidence of the needs could be seen in the display of photos vividly showing damage from leaky roofs or asbestos-plagued heating units or Wayside students bundled up in coats and hats in classrooms with unreliable heating systems.

Most of the photos on display at the Sunday Masses and at the open house can be found on the Photo Page of this website. The display will be updated periodically.

DRAMATIC EFFECT? No, the power failure in the Mackin Center gym on Sunday evening had nothing to do with the Preserving Our Foundation / Securing Our Future capital campaign that was launched Sunday. It was a Commonwealth Edison issue that was resolved later that night. But the candles and sunlight streaming in through the western windows made it bright enough to visit and learn about the campaign.

FATHER ED spent time visiting with parishioners and explaining the various parish needs the led to the Preserving Our Foundation / Securing Our Future campaign at the kick-off Open House. Jackets were dress-of-the-day for some as a ComEd generator failure resulted in no lights and no heat.

PICTURES TELL THE STORY. From afar, OLW's physical plant looks fine -- beautiful, in fact -- but a close look shows many problems and that's what the Preserving Our Foundation / Securing Our Future campaign is about: fixing those problems.

A GOOD CLOSE LOOK at photos of various parish needs helped convince most that the concerns are very significant and repairs are needed.

VOLUNTEERS FOR THE Preserving Our Foundation / Securing Our Future campaign had a chance to sign up to help, which many did. They also had a chance to write out questions which will be answered.