Capital Campaign
Campaign Components
- Spirit: St. Thomas More Chapel
- Mind: Academic Building
- Body: Athletic & Fitness Center
- Expression: Creative Arts & Community Center
Spirit: St. Thomas More Chapel
Completed in January 2022, the Chapel at St. Thomas More is prominently located in the front of the school and reinforces our Catholic identity. This new building includes a Chapel with fixed seating, a confessional, and a Campus ministry meeting room and office. The increased space allows for daily Mass as well as more opportunities for campus ministry initiatives such as service work, retreats, pilgrimages, leadership fellowship, and faith formation.
Mind: Academic Building
Completed in July 2017, this building houses the Math Department in ten classrooms and our Options Program. The Options Program provides an opportunity for students with disabilities to enjoy their high school years on a campus with loving and accepting peers while meeting their individualized academic needs.
Body: Athletic & Fitness Center
The Need: STM currently has over 450 athletes participating in 20 sports with limited space and storage areas. Outdoor and indoor sports for male and female athletes lack ample lockers, training and fitness space, classroom space and meeting areas.
The Solution: The Athletic and Fitness Center will contain a weight room, locker rooms, equipment rooms, a training room, activity room and coaches’ offices. Additional locker rooms will provide male and female athletes participating in outdoor sports with a place to change and store their personal items and equipment. Through the creation of this facility, more existing building space will become available for indoor sports and other activities.
Expression: Creative Arts & Community Center
The Need: In 1982, we served 750 students and offered 34 clubs and sports. Today, we serve over 1,000 students and offer 65 clubs and athletic opportunities. To accommodate the increase in students and opportunities, we need more meeting space, practice space and additional cafeteria space. After-school and evening activities in the current facility increase utility costs.
The Solution: The Creative Arts and Community Center will accommodate a variety of school groups including fine arts, ministry, spirit squads and extracurricular groups. The current stage will be relocated from the cafeteria to this building. This will allow the current cafeteria to increase in size, providing additional lunchroom seating. The plan encourages the addition of an outside dining patio and green space. This facility will provide a separate after-hours entrance into the school, increasing building security and reducing electrical usage.
Strategic Plan
Master Site Plan
FAQs
When will construction begin?
The softball field and tennis courts have been relocated, two parking lots have been added, ten new classrooms and the Options facility have been completed. The additional facility enhancements including the Chapel, the Creative Arts and Community Center and the Athletic and Fitness Center will be built when 50% of the funds (cash & pledges) have been committed and the Diocese gives their approval.
Why should I support this campaign if my children have graduated?
It is our hope that St. Thomas More will be part of your family legacy. St. Thomas More is here today because of the vision of those who came before us. The foundation formed by these visionaries created a community centered on educating the whole student – spirit, mind, body and expression. Without their vision, ask yourself, where would we be today? Without your gift, ask yourself, where will we be tomorrow?
Which building will be built first?
No priorities have been established. Each building is equally important and will be built when we reach our goal of $12 million.
Can I restrict my gift to a particular area of the program?
Yes, donors may restrict their gift to an area, if so desired.
Will tuition go up to pay for this building?
No, a capital campaign will fund the priorities of the plan.
What will happen if we don't raise all the money we need?
Based on the results of the Feasibility Study, we feel confident in reaching our goal. If we do not raise all the money in this campaign, we will consider other funding options and additional phases of the Campaign. The capital campaign will continue until all funds are raised for the completion of these buildings.
When will we see the fine arts building built?
The Creative Arts and Community Center will be built when the money is raised and construction complete.
Can the Pastors change their minds and build something else with our money?
No, the money raised for this campaign will be used to pay off the debt on the Academic Building and without priority the Athletic and Fitness Center, Chapel and Creative Arts and Community Center will be built.
Who decided that this was the best building program for our school?
The Strategic Plan committee was led by members of the STM Advisory Council. Parents, volunteers, faculty and staff, the Chancellor and members of the community participated in the process. It was through this Strategic Plan process that these priorities were identified.
Who else will be asked to contribute to this campaign?
The entire STM Community will be asked to participate in this campaign – past parents and grandparents, current parent and grandparents, faculty, alumni, businesses and friends of STM.
Who will know what I decide to give, if I decide to give?
No specific gift amounts are shared or published. You can also request to remain anonymous. This means your name will not be included in our published list of donors.
Is my gift tax deductible?
Yes, St. Thomas More Catholic High School is a 501(c)(3).
Updates
Spring 2022
On January 25, 2022 we opened the doors to our new Chapel and in a very special Mass for our Chapel Society, Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel blessed the Chapel at St. Thomas More. Chancellor Father Michael Russo concelebrated the Mass along with our Board of Pastors and alumni priests. We are forever grateful to our donors for leaving STM better than we found it.
Fall 2021
A generous gift from Our Lady of Lourdes and the Our Lady of Lourdes medical community has allowed us to launch Envision More 3.0, the Our Lady of Lourdes Cougar Athletic Center. The 22,000 square foot athletic facility will be located on the practice field between the school and Cougar Stadium and will include a 6,000 square foot weight room, a 2,600 square foot activity room, locker rooms, dressing areas, restrooms with showers, a training room, storage, and equipment space, and coaches’ offices, for all outdoor sports.
In addition, lockers rooms for all indoor sports and outdoor sports will be renovated and new locker rooms will be built where those are lacking. Cougar Stadium will be the home to a new visitor concession and restrooms as well as the lacrosse and soccer locker rooms.
Spring 2021
Construction began on the Chapel at St. Thomas More. Though the COVID pandemic creates havoc on labor and the supply chain, work continues on the new Chapel and campus ministry facility through the Summer.
Fall 2020
While using proper COVID protocols, we safely held a ground breaking ceremony for the Chapel at St. Thomas More with our Envision More committee and stakeholders. Construction began in December of 2020. We are so grateful to everyone who made this possible. Stay tuned for more progress as we move forward with construction.
Spring 2020
Despite this being a COVID year, we are excited to announce that we have successfully raised the funds needed and will break ground this summer on the Chapel at St. Thomas More. We are grateful for the support of our donors and to all who have reserved naming opportunities and joined the St. Thomas More Chapel Society. If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this historical time by making a donation, purchasing a naming opportunity or becoming a member of the Chapel Society please contact Anne Pitre at (337) 988-3700 Ext 126 or via email at anne.pitre@stmcougars.net.
Fall 2019
Our guiding mission, taken from our namesake St. Thomas More, is to be “God’s servant first.” In this spirit, the STM Advisory Board and the STM administration has led to a renewed focus on Spirit and the building of a new chapel. This effort is expected to culminate in a 2020 groundbreaking on the new facility.
As of August 2019, we have raised $1 million of the $2.5 million needed to complete the STM chapel project. The new chapel will be a dedicated space for Jesus and will sit prominently at the front of the school
On August 24, 2019, Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel lit a candle that will burn until the new chapel is completed.
Spring 2019
In February, our alumni class captains kicked off the Cougar Class Challenge getting our alumni involved in giving to Envision More. Winners of the challenge were announced at the Alumni Crawfish Boil on March 23.
The Class of 1992 raised the most money for the campaign and the Class of 1984 had the most participation. Together our alumni raised $710,295.31 for Envision More. A special thanks goes out to alumnae, Cathi Pavy for sharing her creative talents with us to produce a fun and catchy campaign.
Fall 2018
In November 2018, St. Thomas More launched an end of year, social media campaign for Envision More called Quarter of the Way by New Year's Day. We are happy to report that $300,000 was donated in 30 days.
August 15, 2018
Today we launched Envision More to our student body with a special student presentation after our 36th Anniversary Mass. The goal of the day was to educate our students on the four components of the capital campaign in a fun and memorable way. This was accomplished through giveaways, photo-booth pics and the #icanEnivsionMore social media contest.
Summer 2018
In April 2018, St. Thomas More initiated the Envision More Capital Campaign with the vision to make significant investments in programs and our facilities. Envision More is focused on body, mind, expression and spirit.
After 4 months seeking leadership and major gifts in the silent phase of the campaign, we are thrilled to announce that we have been blessed with over $2,000,000 in gifts and pledges to date. As we have visited with families, and individuals, we have encountered unanimous support for our projects and consistently experienced donors stretching to make the largest gifts that they have ever made! We have tremendous momentum heading into this next phase of the campaign focused on raising a total of $10,000,000, engaging all families as we rise to meet our overall goal of $12,000,000.
