By STEPHEN BEALE
Union Leader Correspondents
 

GOFFSTOWN - The morning after the principal announced an anonymous donor had given $100,000 to keep the Villa Augustina open, Sister Pauline Ayotte trudged through the snow to the school bulletin board on Mast Road and put up one word: "Believe."

That simple expression of faith has become a rallying cry for parents as they launch a fundraising campaign to buy the Villa Augustina School from the Religious of Jesus and Mary, which founded the school 90 years ago.

The campaign officially kicks off today with the unveiling of a Web site, www.villafuture.org, which allows visitors to donate online and includes news updates and other information on the parent-driven effort.

Parents started to organize last month, when Sister Janet Stolba, the U.S. Provincial Superior for the Religious of Jesus and Mary, known around the school as the RJMs, announced that the order intended to close the school June 2008 due to financial difficulties.

Gary Bouchard, a parent spokesman, said the school community has immediate plans to raise $200,000, ensuring it receives a matching gift of $200,000 from the same anonymous donor who has already contributed $100,000. That would give parents more than the $400,000 the sisters last month told them they would need to purchase the school.

But Bouchard said the campaign needs to also focus on the future. "It's not just a short-term fundraising effort to save the Villa. That's not what this is about. It's a substantive, forward-looking, three-year fundraising effort to enhance the Villa and really lift it into the future."

Bouchard said parents are not ready to disclose any long-term goals. He said the campaign would have a leadership team and targets in place some time next month.

The Religious of Jesus and Mary has indicated some of the work that might need to be done for the Villa Augustina to continue serving its 260 students, preschool through eighth grade.

In a PowerPoint presentation to parents last month, Sister Stolba ticked off a list of capital improvements that could cost anywhere from $1.2 million to $5.6 million. But none of the improvements, such as expanded classrooms and a new heating and ventilation system, are required by the state Department of Education.

Bouchard said parents plan to cast a wide net for possible donors, reaching out to alumnae, parents, staff, members of the Religious of Jesus and Mary, and others who want to see the Villa Augustina remain a vibrant Catholic school.

"It's going to be a creative campaign that relies on small and large gifts of all variety," Bouchard said.

Reproduced by the Goffstown Residents Association.