October 18, 2000

I am seeking your views about matters of great importance to St. Robert's Parish. It has been over forty years since the founding of St. Robert's Church and over fifty years since St. Robert's School was built. We will always be grateful to the early parishioners who sacrificed to build our wonderful church, convent and priest house.

To adequately plan for the future, approximately one year ago we began assessing our physical plant to determine potential improvements that are needed. Through this process it became evident that our present buildings are not adequate for the needs of a parish in the twenty-first century. The effort of those parishioners who gave numerous hours to this process has resulted in plans for the construction of an Education Center and a Social/Recreation Center. (see enclosure.)

The estimated cost for construction of this proposed facility is $3.5 million. Accordingly, we are considering launching a parish-wide fund raising campaign to raise as much as possible of this projected amount.

Prior to beginning such an effort, we would like to have the advice and counsel of our parishioners, and we would value your candid input. We have retained the services of Olwell Associates, a Burlingame consulting firm specializing in assisting churches with situations similar to ours. Olwell will conduct a survey of our parishioners to determine the most appropriate and realistic way to proceed.

Enclosed is a confidential Mail Survey. I am asking that you take the time - approximately 5 to 10 minutes - to complete the survey and return it in the envelope provided by Wednesday, October 25, 2000. Your input and views are very important and will be instrumental in our efforts. Please be assured your responses are confidential and the survey is not a solicitation of funds. Our intent, unless this planning survey tells us otherwise, is to implement the campaign next spring.

I am certainly aware of the tremendous time demands which we all face. I thank you for your cooperation in this effort, and I thank you for your continued support of our parish.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Rev. Vincent D. Ring
Pastor

Education Center

Our parish school needs a multi purpose classroom that can be used for science, art and other programs. It has been proven that children do better in a dedicated space. Today, more schools have this type of specialized facilities.

The space and location of the current Religious Education Office have proven to be inadequate in meeting the administrative needs of the program. There is no room for parent teacher conferences nor for teachers to gather to share ideas. In addition, there is very little storage and closet space. Having its own space in the proposed Education Center will strengthen the identity of the Religious Education Program and further integrate it into the life and mission of the parish.

The overall Religious Education Program consists of three components - K through 5 grade which is held in the school building, Junior High which is held in homes, and the Confirmation Program for grades 9 and 10 which is held in Hennessy Hall. Approximately 320 students, kindergarten through 10th grade are currently enrolled.

Another portion of the Proposed Education Center will be reserved for the Youth Ministry. Our High School age parishioners have never had a dedicated or adequate space to gather. A Youth Ministry room would provide space for a youth ministry director and space for meetings and relaxing time together.

Finally, there is a serious need for a faculty/staff work room and lunchroom. The current space is small and inadequate and will be converted and used for counseling and small group meetings.

Social/Recreation Center

One of the dreams of our parish for years has been a space for large meetings, dinners and, of course, recreation. The proposed Social/Recreation Center will be capable of holding 400 for a meeting or 300 for dining. As a recreation center, it would provide space for basketball (regulation size court), volleyball and other indoor sports. There would be a director's office, stands for seating over 200 spectators at sporting events, warming ovens and adequate storage for tables and chairs.

Costs

The estimated cost of the entire project, if all components are constructed at the same time, is $3.5 million. If, due to affordability, the two buildings are constructed separately (beginning with the Education Center), the projected combined costs would approximate $4 million.