Schools

$1.75 Million Capital Campaign Begins for Nativity Parish Center

Officials from Nativity of Our Lord have plans to build a community center and gymnasium on the school grounds.

Officials with Nativity of Our Lord want to build a new parish community center with a basketball court and handicapped-accessible meeting space. They have the designs and the desire, now they just need the money.

A capital campaign has launched seeking to raise $1.75 million for the center, which will be built on the open land where the Ellie Pomplas Playground now sits (the playground will be moved). Once they hit the $1 million mark, construction will begin.

"The overwhelmingly positive response by the vast majority of parishioners to move forward with this project is deeply encouraging and moving to me," said Fr. Angelo Citino in a letter to parishioners. "After much research and reflection, we believe that this is a reasonable goal for the parish to achieve. We have developed a project budget that is reflective of this financial goal, hoping that if we exceed this goal, we can pursue some “wish list” items."

According to Citino's letter, the advantages of creating the new community center include:

  • An entrance and facilities that are handicapped accessible
  • A transformative gymnasium space that can accommodate our school children, CYO and PREP students, as well as our Senior Citizens and large group events
  • Meeting space that is comfortable and prayerful, appropriate for gatherings of ministries, organizations and small programs
  • A kitchen space large enough to service events held in the parish community center
  • Overall adequate facilities and space to accommodate and welcome the entire Nativity Parish community as our guests 
Currently, meetings that cannot be accommodated in the parish conference center are conducted in the church basement, which can become difficult to navigate for older and disabled members of the community. The basement is also used by school students for indoor gym classes, school plays and other special events.

Anyone interested in donating money to the effort can contact the parish at (215) 675-1925. The campaign brochure suggests payment timetables for three-year and five-year pledges ranging from $1,080 to $100,000. Certain amounts also give donors an opportunity to memorialize certain aspects of the building, including $200,000 for naming rights of the center, $50,000 for the lobby, $7,500 for the scoreboard and $5,000 for the volleyball net.

A Tree of Life will also be located in the lobby that will feature inscriptions provided by donors on either leaves or rocks, depending on the donation amount:
  • One leaf is available for $1,080
  • $3,600 gets a leaf with one star
  • $5,000 is worth a leaf with two stars
  • A small rock costs $7,500
  • A medium rock costs $10,000
  • A large rock costs $25,000 or more.
Officials from Nativity were originally scheduled to bring the initial plans before the Warminster Planning Commission on Dec. 18, but the application was withdrawn. Planning Commission Chairman Wayne McCulloch said last week that he did not know when the plans will be re-submitted.


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