Photo courtesy of Mark Bowen Photography
The restored bells being rung for the first time. Left to right:
HCI Pastoral Administrator Bill Frantz; HCI Reverend Martin
Moran; City Councilman Chris Bortz; Archbishop Pilarczyk.
about to be demolished, and installed it at HCI, where a
stained glass window had been missing since the 1940s.
These grant writing and fundraising experiences gave
the church leaders the foundation needed to fund their
next unanticipated project: the repairing of the church’s
three bells.
The Verdin Company assisted the parish by creating an
educational brochure about the bell restoration process.
President Jim Verdin encourages such informational
material as it spurs community involvement, generates
enthusiasm, and ultimately results in donations. Money
for the bells’ restoration was raised in about three
months as a result of this flurry of fundraising. An
estimated 75% of the funding came from those who were
not members of the parish. The parish was actually able
to raise more money than was necessary for restoration
and, following the guidance of the New Dollars/ New
Partners training, has created a fund for ongoing bell
maintenance.
New Dollars/New Partners training taught Holy CrossImmaculata to look for the resources that both their
parish and the surrounding community provide.
“Because of [New Dollars/New Partners] we have made
other partners and gotten our name out there. We don’t
have to keep going back to the same well of resources for
funding,” says Bill Frantz. Most importantly, the parish
has learned to depend on itself as a powerful asset.
“We have learned from these fundraising experiences
to keep our eyes open to the gifts and talents of the
parishioners,” Frantz continues. “We have a great
parish full of good-hearted people who want to help
the community.” It is their passion for church and
community that has kept the parish of Holy CrossImmaculata a landmark in the neighborhood for over
100 years.
A routine examination by the Verdin Company, a
Cincinnati-based caster