Update for the Now is the Time Campaign

The DJ Sokol Learning for Life Building, in memory of DJ Sokol ‘99, has been made possible by David and Peggy Sokol along with their daughter Kelly Sokol Avery.  The Benedictine Community cannot say thank you enough for their continued support to Mount Michael Benedictine and the $5,000,000 gift that they have made.

In working towards matching the gift provided by the Sokol family, current sophomore parents Steve and Tammy Reynolds have made a gift of $125,000 to the campaign along with a challenge themselves.  They have agreed to match their gift in one year, if we are able to match their gift 10 times.  This would enable Mount Michael to match the Sokol gift with $1,375,000 if the challenge is met.  Thank you very much, Steve and Tammy, for realizing the urgency behind raising these dollars and helping the community pull together to raise the funds needed to complete the academic facility.  With this kind of support from our Mount Michael family the school cannot fail to soar to new heights.

- Kimberly A. Volpone Director of Advancement  

  

Blessed & Broken

View More Architect Drawings 

The Feast of the Archangels is always a notable event at the Mount but this year it had much greater significance than usual.   This day marked the groundbreaking and blessing of the site for The DJ Sokol Learning for Life Building.  Many guests were in attendance including school board members, donors, families and friends. Of special note was the presence of Peggy Sokol the mother of DJ Sokol ‘99 in whose memory the building is named.

Archbishop Lucas Blesses The Building Site 

Because of a larger crowd for this year’s special events the feast day Mass was held in the Gymnasium instead of the Chapel.  Archbishop George Lucas was the celebrant for the Eucharist.  During the service the Archbishop also mandated 6 students as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist. They were juniors Zach Cairney, Jean-Marie Djidjoho, Joe Coldiron, Patrick Halpin, Drew Goddard, and Michael Ecker.

After Mass everyone proceeded to the construction site.  For the blessing the students stood along an outline of the school as the Archbishop sprinkled holy water at the future entrance.  Students then were each given vials of holy water and dispersed to sprinkle holy water throughout the site.   The student kept the vials as mementos of the occasion.

In the evening a large crowd again gathered at the construction site this time for a ground breaking ceremony.  Numerous talks were giving noting the school history and thanking supporters past and present for making Mount Michael the great school that it is.  Peggy Sokol was presented with a framed rendition of the architects drawing of The DJ Sokol Learning for Life Building.  Many of DJ’s classmates from 1999 posed with Mrs. Sokol for a photograph.

Formal Ground Breaking Ceremony 

Ten individuals partook of the formal ground breaking ceremony representing various parts of the Mount Michael community.  They were Andrew Collins ’01, President of the Alumni Assoc.; Greg Stieren ’00 of BCDM, Todd Rohweder, School Board President; Michael Fischer ’16, Student Council President; Dr. David Peters, Head of School; Peggy Sokol, Abbot Michael ’68, Fr. Daniel Hendrickson ’89, President of Creighton University; Jim Classe ’84 of Prochaska & Associates, and John Levy representing DJ’s class of 1999.

At the conclusion of the formal ceremony students, faculty and families broke out their shovels to turn a little dirt!

The current construction timeline calls for finalized plans by the end of October with construction bids going out in November.  Some preliminary ground work might be done this fall but the actual construction start is slated for March.  The goal is for completion for the 2017-2018 school year. The Architects for The DJ Sokol Learning for Life Building are Prochaska & Associates and BCDM.

More Photos:   Mass & Blessing - Ground Breaking - Ground Breaking Photos by Nellie

Sokols Gift Mount Michael $5,000,000

Mount Michael Benedictine announced this week that the school received the largest single gift since its inception in 1970.  To honor their son and brother, DJ Sokol, philanthropists, David and Peggy Sokol and Kelly Sokol Avery donated $5,000,000 for a new school building.  The building will be named The DJ Sokol Learning for Life Building.  DJ Sokol was a 1999 alumnus of Mount Michael Benedictine School who lost his heroic battle to cancer in June of that same year.

D. J. Sokol '99

Over the years the Sokol family has been very generous to our monastic community and school; donating funds to renovate the chapel, the student union (Armory), the sophomore floor and other important projects.  Additionally they were the single largest donors to the new wing of the Abbey Building, completed in 2007.  The Sokols believe in the power of education for young men.  They have invested in Mount Michael Benedictine because our students absorb and reflect the Benedictine values of Community, Moderation, Hospitality, Integrity and Service.  The first stage of the Now is the Time campaign allowed us to replace a Waste Water Treatment Facility and to increase our endowment for the operation of the school by $2,000,000.  Additionally the freshman dormitory was renovated and a new shower room installed.

The capital campaign currently maintains a $2,100,000 balance including cash and pledges.  With the addition of this gift we have $7,100,000 and will break ground on The DJ Sokol Learning for Life Building in the fall of 2015.  Along with other classrooms this building will feature a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Center, new Media Center and Computer Lab. The goal will be for this building to open during the 2017-18 school year.

The Sokol family hopes to encourage matching gifts from alumni, our Mount Michael family and other potential donors.  We still need your help to complete this project.  No gift will be too small.  With a concerted and combined effort we are confident that we will move from vision to reality.

Please feel free to contact Mrs. Kim Volpone at 402.253.0964 or email her at kvolpone@mountmichael.org to donate or volunteer to help us in this endeavor.  In addition to your financial support we truly need your prayers and assistance.

Below is a preliminary sketch showing the new building in relationship to the current campus. The DJ Sokol Learning for Life Building is illustrated to the right of the current facility.  Prochaska & Associates and BCDM will be the Architects for this project.