Capital Campaign Receives Family Pledge to Fully Fund Auditorium
The summer of 2022 is shaping up to be the most extensive period of construction at Trinity High School since the facility was built in 1963.
As part of Trinity’s four-faceted “Faith in Our Future” capital campaign, the overhaul of athletic facilities – to include a new turf and the resurfacing of the track at COBO Field, and new bleachers in the gymnasium – are next on the docket.
School administrators are hoping for a financial push from benefactors in the next few weeks, to help make those renovations a reality this summer.
“Our hope over the next month before we go before the Diocesan Building Commission and the College of Consultors, is that we raise the money to fully fund the field and the bleachers,” Trinity High School Principal John Cominsky told The Catholic Witness.
More than $1.3 million has been generously donated by benefactors toward the nearly $2 million athletics project. In order to receive Diocesan approval for the project, Trinity is hoping to raise $427,000 by January 15, 2022.
“Although there is a gap right now between the goal and the funds that are needed, I do believe in the end that we’re going to close that gap and we’re going to build the field this summer,” Cominsky said December 28.
Trinity’s capital campaign is a five-year, $8.5 million undertaking for renovations to the school’s facilities, including a new façade to allow for an energy-efficient HVAC system; a renovated auditorium; the installation of turf for use by more than 200 student-athletes who play at COBO Field, and new gym bleachers for safety and accessibility.
To date, the front of the school’s façade has been replaced, with the replacement of a portion of the back of the school set for this summer.
In addition to the facility upgrades, the campaign also supported Trinity’s one-to-one Chromebook program, which has provided every student and teacher with their own devices for educational use.
A significant portion of the campaign, which has garnered more than $6 million in gifts, has been conducted during the pandemic.
“While we’re currently at just over $6 million in gifts and donations for the entire campaign, we still have more than $2 million to go. There is still a lot of opportunity to assist the students at Trinity, if people, in their generosity, would like to do that,” Cominsky said.
An anonymous family recently stepped forward to do just that, pledging $3 million for the completion of the new auditorium.
“A very generous family has blessed Trinity with the entire cost of the auditorium, which is in real need of renovation,” Cominsky said.
The renovated auditorium will be a floor-to-ceiling project, with enhanced staging, lighting, sound, seating and flooring to enrich liturgies, assemblies and the performing arts.
“We are pleased to help the Trinity High School community with this important project,” the donor family said. “Students begin and end their time at Trinity with events in the auditorium. They worship as a community in that space. And the auditorium serves as the school’s performing arts center. We have been blessed as a family, and we are happy to share those blessings with the Trinity community.”
Construction on the auditorium will be a six-month effort, commencing in June and concluding at the end of the calendar year, Cominsky said. Work on the turf field, the bleachers and the remainder of the façade is slated to be completed in the summer months, pending Diocesan approval and the purchase of materials in a timely manner to avoid supply-chain issues.
Trinity has partnered with Pyramid Construction Services, Inc., for the facilities projects.
“We are looking at $5 to $6 million in construction during the summer of 2022. This summer will be the single biggest summer of construction since the facility was built in 1963,” Cominsky said. He noted that the campaign and renovations are a decade in the making for the nearly 60-year old school and its increasing enrollment.
“It’s an exciting time at Trinity, and it’s all through the generosity of people in our community during a very difficult time worldwide. The pandemic has been a great challenge, but we’re very excited for what this holds for the students, teachers, staff and our entire community,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Learn more about Trinity’s “Faith in Our Future” capital campaign at https://thsrocks.us/faith-in-our-future/.
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
