WILL TOMORROW’S LEADERS COME FROM RICHMOND?
We think so. And we believe God is calling us to prepare them to Learn to Lead.
St. Benedict Catholic School is Richmond’s oldest parochial school, founded by the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia in 1919. Throughout its history, Saint Benedict School has provided a wholesome, well-rounded educational foundation for children from across Richmond.
Today, St. Benedict Catholic School serves more than 220 families, with surging parent demand boosting enrollment by 28% over the last two years. Building from a strong Catholic identity and curriculum rooted in classical education, St. Benedict has become a destination school for families coming from over 30 area zip codes.
In 2019, we launched the Centennial Campaign to raise $1 million to replace our HVAC system, expand our playground facilities and create a multifunctional outdoor space that serves both recreational and educational purposes. After a successful launch of our Centennial Campaign, we elected to suspend active fundraising during the COVID epidemic.
We need your help to prepare a new generation of students to
LEARN TO LEAD.
In 2021, Bishop Barry Knestout initiated the $30 million Learn to Lead campaign to strengthen and expand the mission of Catholic Schools throughout the Diocese of Richmond. In conjunction with the new Diocesan initiative, we are excited to relaunch our Centennial Campaign to complete the campus improvements that will significantly enhance how we serve the children in our care now and attract students for the future.
Our goal is to raise a total of $600K to fund the construction of our new outdoor learning area as well as pay for our HVAC system.
$300,000 INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE
REIMAGINING HOW WE PLAY
Our school is blessed to be situated in a beautiful urban environment in the heart of the Museum District, though it forces us to be creative in the use of our outdoor space. Reimagining our space will allow the school to offer additional outdoor learning opportunities, provide much-needed recreational and social space, and allow for enhanced safety and privacy. There are four key components of this initiative:
Two new playground equipment sets will serve our students recreational and developmental needs as they grow from ages 4 to 13. The primary set will support our youngest students as they continue to build their gross motor skills and coordination, while encouraging imaginary play and socialization. The secondary apparatus will allow for varied play for large groups of children and will promote exploration, teamwork, problem solving and social play through age 13. Vitally important, these new play areas will be grounded by a softer, rubberized surface for more safe play.
New fencing will surround the playground area and will now include privacy screening for our students while at play. Some additional fencing will be added to our larger blacktop area at the front of our school to update the current chain-link fence and make it more aesthetically attractive as visitors approach our campus.
An outdoor, shaded learning/gathering area will be added to the new playground space with transitional seating that can provide bench or picnic table seating. This area will grow our opportunities for outdoor classroom space, gathering space for club meetings and visiting space for classmates during recess.
The school’s largest outdoor space needs to be resurfaced with new asphalt. Our blacktop area is a multi-purpose space where students participate in physical education classes, recess, and sports on a daily basis; our school gathers for outdoor assemblies; and where our families come together for social events.
$300,000 FOR HVAC SYSTEM
ENSURING A COMFORTABLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR FUTURE LEADERS
St. Benedict was fortunate to receive a matching grant from The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation to help install the new HVAC system in the summer of 2020. Fortuitously, this project proved to be extraordinarily valuable during the COVID epidemic and has greatly benefited our school community during these trying times. Our new HVAC system allowed us to maintain in-person learning while providing clean filtered air for students and staff. The new HVAC solution has improved consistency of heating and cooling in the learning environment, reduced energy consumption and operating costs for the school while improving the comfort for our students, teachers, faculty, and visitors year-round. The school has made excellent strides paying off the debt of this major installation, but this reflects the remainder to be raised.
