Spring Renovations
Donation protected
My name is Megan and I am a parishioner at St. Athanasius Byzantine Catholic Church, I am also an employee of the YMCA, so I guess nonprofit organizations would be one of my many interests. Right now I am raising money to fund a few renovations that the Parish needs to make to the Parish Hall, the Temple’s bell tower, and the windows on our poor old school building.
This is the very beginning, the tip of the iceberg if you will, of a series of projects that we are preparing to take on.
The Parish Hall is crucial to the livelihood of St. Athanasius Church because it is where John, our baker and parish manager, does all of the baking (our main source of income), we host our weekly Parish luncheons, teach Eastern Christian Formation classes (Sunday School), host our monthly Community Meals (free to all in our community which is economically struggling), houses our Food Pantry and Clothes Closet, and many other specialty classes such as Pysanky Decorating class (Eastern-European tradition of making highly ornate Easter eggs). In the future we are hoping to expand what we can offer through our Parish Hall, but first it needs a little TLC. The floor needs to be stripped and re-waxed to make cleaning up after events easier, the walls need to be painted to add some warmth to the space, making it a more enjoyable environment, and also making them easier to clean. We also hope to replace our bare, fluorescent light bulbs with daylight lightbulbs because of the mental and physical health benefits they provide. In addition to these cosmetic improvements, we have some plumbing issues in the kitchen and bathrooms that need some attention as well; which involves installing a larger commercial sink (which we have, but we need the plumbing to match).
This was taken at one of our free Community Meals.
St. Athanasius Byzantine Catholic Church’s temple is over 120 years old, and is an all wood framed structure. This includes the bell tower which needs the vinyl siding replaced because as it stands there are missing and damaged pieces, which were lost during inclement weather this spring. Their absence leaves the materials of our bell tower open to further decay before a more large scale and permanent renovation can be initiated.
We also own the old Assumption Parish school building. At the moment the building is out of commission, to say the least. The parishioners of St. Athanasius have been discussing many, many possibilities for this building including a coffee shop, brewery, urban agricultural space, and a life enrichment center that would host a number of classes and events for the community! This is a very exciting time, because this building has sat empty for years and in the last two years the city of Indianapolis has been pushing us to have it demolished. So in order to begin repairs on the building, we must first comply with a small, civic request: to board up the broken windows. This has been listed as a safety issue by the city, because they do not want the building easily accessible to critters or people looking to explore an old, semi-abandoned building.
This need is pretty urgent as we must renovate around the bakery schedule. The bakery will be closed for the month of April, which is when we are hoping to work in the Parish Hall. With the first week of April being Bright Week (the week after Easter in which we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ) we are scheduled to begin in one week! This puts us on a very short timeframe of needing the money by Monday, April 11, 2016!
My challenge is to raise as close to $5000, as possible, in one (1!!) very short week…actually, six (6!!!) days so that we can at least start working, and if need be I will try again for any future needs. I would be extremely thankful to everyone for everything and anything they could give to this cause! As a sign of gratitude, anyone who donates any amount is invited to our “Coming Home” event on May 14, 2016, which consists of a free dinner and a tour of our temple. To some that may not be much, but who doesn’t enjoy a free meal?
This is the very beginning, the tip of the iceberg if you will, of a series of projects that we are preparing to take on.
The Parish Hall is crucial to the livelihood of St. Athanasius Church because it is where John, our baker and parish manager, does all of the baking (our main source of income), we host our weekly Parish luncheons, teach Eastern Christian Formation classes (Sunday School), host our monthly Community Meals (free to all in our community which is economically struggling), houses our Food Pantry and Clothes Closet, and many other specialty classes such as Pysanky Decorating class (Eastern-European tradition of making highly ornate Easter eggs). In the future we are hoping to expand what we can offer through our Parish Hall, but first it needs a little TLC. The floor needs to be stripped and re-waxed to make cleaning up after events easier, the walls need to be painted to add some warmth to the space, making it a more enjoyable environment, and also making them easier to clean. We also hope to replace our bare, fluorescent light bulbs with daylight lightbulbs because of the mental and physical health benefits they provide. In addition to these cosmetic improvements, we have some plumbing issues in the kitchen and bathrooms that need some attention as well; which involves installing a larger commercial sink (which we have, but we need the plumbing to match).
This was taken at one of our free Community Meals.St. Athanasius Byzantine Catholic Church’s temple is over 120 years old, and is an all wood framed structure. This includes the bell tower which needs the vinyl siding replaced because as it stands there are missing and damaged pieces, which were lost during inclement weather this spring. Their absence leaves the materials of our bell tower open to further decay before a more large scale and permanent renovation can be initiated.
We also own the old Assumption Parish school building. At the moment the building is out of commission, to say the least. The parishioners of St. Athanasius have been discussing many, many possibilities for this building including a coffee shop, brewery, urban agricultural space, and a life enrichment center that would host a number of classes and events for the community! This is a very exciting time, because this building has sat empty for years and in the last two years the city of Indianapolis has been pushing us to have it demolished. So in order to begin repairs on the building, we must first comply with a small, civic request: to board up the broken windows. This has been listed as a safety issue by the city, because they do not want the building easily accessible to critters or people looking to explore an old, semi-abandoned building.
This need is pretty urgent as we must renovate around the bakery schedule. The bakery will be closed for the month of April, which is when we are hoping to work in the Parish Hall. With the first week of April being Bright Week (the week after Easter in which we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ) we are scheduled to begin in one week! This puts us on a very short timeframe of needing the money by Monday, April 11, 2016!
My challenge is to raise as close to $5000, as possible, in one (1!!) very short week…actually, six (6!!!) days so that we can at least start working, and if need be I will try again for any future needs. I would be extremely thankful to everyone for everything and anything they could give to this cause! As a sign of gratitude, anyone who donates any amount is invited to our “Coming Home” event on May 14, 2016, which consists of a free dinner and a tour of our temple. To some that may not be much, but who doesn’t enjoy a free meal?
Organizer
Megan Craig
Organizer
Indianapolis, IN