Case for Support

For nearly eighty years, Notre Dame Parish has been a beacon of God’s love for the community of New Hyde Park. From our humble beginnings–with that first Easter Mass in the original wooden church—our parish, by God’s grace, has grown, evolving into a vibrant center of Catholic life on Long Island. Our parishioners, at the service of Our Lord and
through the intercession of Our Lady, Notre Dame, remain dedicated to the mission of serving God and neighbor through sacramental life, our school, our social ministry, and our many varied programs.

Notre Dame Parish has overcome many obstacles over the course of its history, yet through steadfast resolve and enduring faith, we have continued to thrive. Even today, when we find ourselves in dark times for our Church, we come together with great hope that our parish will continue to flourish. We have seen the generosity and commitment of so many wonderful parishioners who have been the living stones of this church, and we know that no matter the challenge, this is what will enable us to persevere and remain vibrant moving forward. Today then, as stewards of Notre Dame Parish, we are charged to celebrate our history of service and ensure that the parish is able to share the love of Jesus Christ, with all who seek it, for years to come.

Overview
Over the past year, our parish staff, in consultation with parishioners and various committees, has carried out a thorough evaluation of the physical and spiritual needs of our parish. As discussed at the town hall meeting this past April, the departure of the sisters from the convent in particular presents an opportunity to investigate whether our
parish resources are meeting their potential to serve the parish as a whole. This has led to the realization of possibilities well beyond the initial scope of our undertaking.

Substantial physical renovations to Notre Dame Parish have not been undertaken in close to twenty years—and those prior renovations were limited to the Church. Most of our buildings, not just the convent, have not been updated since their original construction and need improvements and repairs. Furthermore, looking to future challenges, this is an
opportune moment to establish an endowment for our parish and our school as well. An endowment would not only help support current parish ministries and school programs, but would also allow us to expand our projects and program initiatives well into the future.

We conducted two parish town hall meetings this past year to discuss the future of our parish. It was a wonderful opportunity for parish families to come together and reflect on the parish. The insights from those meetings have been instrumental in creating the vision and goals for the parish—and as we prepare our parish for the future, the input of
our parishioners will be essential. Notre Dame Parish has a robust history of serving the Lord faithfully through preaching, teaching, outreach, and enhancement of our Catholic faith in a safe and beautiful setting. To ensure this legacy continues, by undertaking the necessary repairs of our parish facilities and creating an endowment that will help
sustain our parish for years to come, we will require your support. As stewards of Notre Dame Parish, you are invited to take possession of our future with courage and joy.

The following outlines the needs of our parish family.

Our Parish Needs

Capital Projects

  1. Convent
    1. Renovate first floor and basement into parish center
    2. Renovate second floor for lease
    3. Renovate chapel for small service and adoration
  2. School
    1. Purchase and install new electrical feeder
    2. Complete major brick pointing work
    3. Install air conditioning for gym and cafeteria
    4. Install technological enhancements for utilization in school and religious education programs
  3. Church
    1. Establish a fund for future replacement of slate roof
    2. Update and improve accessibility and security for our confessionals, to be located in the niches at the back of the Church
    3. Restore sanctuary (included but not limited to: altars to our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph)
    4. Update sound system (including earphone capability), conform to new FCC requirements
  4. Rectory
    1. Repair and renovations throughout the building

Parish and School Endowment

Notre Dame Parish is looking to establish an endowment fund as a supplement to the annual operational needs of our parish. This fund will be imperative for the long-term sustainability of Notre Dame Parish’s ongoing operations and programming. A parish endowment will secure the lasting presence of our community of faith in
New Hyde Park, as well as provide an opportunity for parishioners to invest in the values they hold dear. Generations to come will thus be able to share the same blessing of growing in their faith at Notre Dame Parish.

Summary

To respond to our parish’s immediate needs and sustain our mission for future generations of Catholics, Notre Dame
Parish is conducting a Parish Planning Assessment to establish support for a major parish fundraising campaign. A successful campaign will be demonstrative of the vitality of our community of faith, while ultimately meeting the evolving needs of our parish.

We seek to raise a minimum of $3.5 million in support of this aim. This goal may seem ambitious, but we are confident that it will be achieved through the support of all the faithful within our parish community, as well as those touched by the tremendous impact of Notre Dame Parish and School. We are called to emulate what our fathers, mothers, and the
generations before them gave and sacrificed nearly eighty years ago when they established this parish. We invite you to review the outlined funding priorities and consider how this campaign will strengthen Notre Dame Parish for future generations.