A caravan is a group of people working together to achieve a common goal. Over the course of the next few years, the goal for the Mount Carmel Caravan is to create a 21st century facility that meets the needs of its 21st century learners.

To that end, Mount Carmel  announced a capital campaign on January 29 at Fortnightly of Chicago to raise funds for a new and improved Mount Carmel. The project’s goal is to renovate the main building to better meet today’s educational challenges. As David Lenti, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, observed, “Kids don’t learn the same way they did in 1924.”

Mount Carmel’s president, Fr. Tony Mazurkewicz, who spoke at the event, pointed out that the success of the campaign will rest with each individual who believes in Mount Carmel. “Every single person in the building works to convince people to invest. Students who set good examples are the biggest motivators for potential donors.”

While the need for significant renovations to the 1914 building is clear, raising millions of dollars is no easy feat, according to Lenti.  It will be his job to convince alumni and other benefactors involved with Mount Carmel to invest in the school’s future.

As Fr. Tony explained, “There are no big secrets when it comes to talking to potential donors. It is a lot of listening and telling stories.”

While he looks forward to meeting with potential donors and listening to stories of the great times they had at Mount Carmel, Fr. Tony also understands he must share the stories and challenges of today’s students to give donors an idea of the value of their investment.

And even though students need a 21st century learning environment, Fr. Tony was quick to emphasize that some things will remain unchanged. “We may change the school building in years to come, but the tradition of Mount Carmel is in the students, faculty and alumni.”

The renovation already is underway, as this past summer new windows were installed, and the 90 year old building was power washed and tuckpointed. Over Easter break, crews removed asbestos from the boiler room, and began the process of replacing the school’s heating system.  Although the entire renovation will take several years, MC students can expect to see some additional improvements by next fall, including an upgraded wifi infrastructure and a new boiler. There also may be at least one completely renovated classroom that would be used to test new design concepts and to serve as a model showcase to potential donors.

Lenti explained that one of the most important priorities as the renovation gets underway will be safety. “We have to run both a school and a construction site. Safety will be our number one concern.” This will be nothing new for students, as they dealt with machinery and construction at the beginning of this school year during the window replacement project.

Most of the campaign funds will be used to renovate the inside of the main building, but a significant portion will be allocated for the Mount Carmel Educational Foundation, which funds a scholarship benefitting every MC student.  Because that scholarship helps to keep a Mount Carmel education affordable,  the Capital Campaign will have the additional benefit of supporting enrollment levels.

While current Mount Carmel students have many suggestions about how the Main building might be improved, most understand that they will have graduated by the time the project is complete.  Still, that didn’t stop junior Patrick McDonagh from identifying his top priority:  “There should be a tunnel that connects the old and the new building so students don’t have to walk in the cold during the winter.”