Our Lady of Hungary Church on North Belle Vista Avenue
dates back to the late 1920s when Hungarian immigrants built the parish from the
ground up.
"My grandparents were founding members, and so 1928 the building was built, which initially was just a basement type of chapel, and then in the 50's they expanded to what we see today," said Bob Barko Jr., president of 545 Management Group.
After serving the West Side of Youngstown for more than 80 years, the church was closed in February of 2012 as part of the Diocese of Youngstown's parish reconfiguration plan. It merged with SS. Peter and Paul Parish on Covington Street on the city's North Side and St. Stephen of Hungary Parish on the East Side to form Holy Apostles Parish.
"The building has sat vacant since then. The parish still keeps an eye on it, makes sure the utilities, the lights, everything are still on," Barko said.
The adjacent former social hall recently was sold, and Barko said there has been recent discussions about spending $25,000 to demolish the church.
Barko and the newly formed 545 Management Group, a non-profit agency consisting of former parishioners and community leaders, delivered a proposal last week to Bishop George Murry and the Diocese. They want to turn Our Lady of Hungary church, the pavilion, grounds and rectory into a community campus with a Youngstown Museum and Ethnic Heritage Center.
"Our parish is Croatian and Hungarian, and I'm half-Italian, and there's German, and there's Slovak, and there's so many different ethnic heritages here in the area," Barko said.
Three main parts of the project include making all floors and restrooms handicap accessible, replacing the roof on both the church and the rectory, and upgrading a heating and air conditioning system that's been there since 1965.
The 545 Management Group is asking the Diocese for one year to raise $300,000 to pay for the project. An anonymous West Side donor kicked off the campaign with a $14,000 gift.
"So we think it's out there. We just need to reach out to the community and ask for it," Barko said.
The project has received letters of support from Youngstown 4th Ward Councilman Mike Ray, Mahoning County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti and the Ethnic Heritage Society.
Anyone interested in donating money, time, or in-kind services to the project can contact the group at 330-881-5819 or by e-mailing 545managementgroup@gmail.com.
"My grandparents were founding members, and so 1928 the building was built, which initially was just a basement type of chapel, and then in the 50's they expanded to what we see today," said Bob Barko Jr., president of 545 Management Group.
After serving the West Side of Youngstown for more than 80 years, the church was closed in February of 2012 as part of the Diocese of Youngstown's parish reconfiguration plan. It merged with SS. Peter and Paul Parish on Covington Street on the city's North Side and St. Stephen of Hungary Parish on the East Side to form Holy Apostles Parish.
"The building has sat vacant since then. The parish still keeps an eye on it, makes sure the utilities, the lights, everything are still on," Barko said.
The adjacent former social hall recently was sold, and Barko said there has been recent discussions about spending $25,000 to demolish the church.
Barko and the newly formed 545 Management Group, a non-profit agency consisting of former parishioners and community leaders, delivered a proposal last week to Bishop George Murry and the Diocese. They want to turn Our Lady of Hungary church, the pavilion, grounds and rectory into a community campus with a Youngstown Museum and Ethnic Heritage Center.
"Our parish is Croatian and Hungarian, and I'm half-Italian, and there's German, and there's Slovak, and there's so many different ethnic heritages here in the area," Barko said.
Three main parts of the project include making all floors and restrooms handicap accessible, replacing the roof on both the church and the rectory, and upgrading a heating and air conditioning system that's been there since 1965.
The 545 Management Group is asking the Diocese for one year to raise $300,000 to pay for the project. An anonymous West Side donor kicked off the campaign with a $14,000 gift.
"So we think it's out there. We just need to reach out to the community and ask for it," Barko said.
The project has received letters of support from Youngstown 4th Ward Councilman Mike Ray, Mahoning County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti and the Ethnic Heritage Society.
Anyone interested in donating money, time, or in-kind services to the project can contact the group at 330-881-5819 or by e-mailing 545managementgroup@gmail.com.
http://tbmw.org/
ReplyDeleteIn the PBS documentary Fixing the Future time bankers help each other weatherize homes, get medical care, eat healthier and get sailing lessons on the Charles River: http://video.pbs.org/video/1646871620/. Time bankers can also support non-profits, small businesses, schools, hospitals, churches, and libraries in many ways:
ReplyDelete• Offering an expanded pool of volunteers.
• Providing something valuable for groups to give back to volunteers.
• Incubating new businesses.
• Lowering operational costs and keeping prices low for customers.
• Identifying unused community resources.
• Reducing medical expenses.
• Helping elders age in place.
• Doing mentoring & tutoring.
• Facilitating justice (with Time Dollar Youth Courts & Homecomer Academies).
• Keeping track of volunteer hours for reporting in funding requests.
• Offering internships and on-the-job training.
• Reducing tax burdens and administrative costs.
Volunteers paid in hours could support a range of local startups:
• Weatherization projects
• Solar installations
• Urban farms
• Plant nurseries
• Food preparation and distribution
• Canning and preserving
• Water catchment and backyard garden installation
Limited only by their imagination, more than 400 U.S. communities with time banks are growing increasingly healthy, prosperous and secure. These range from small groups of friends to funded organizations hosted by hospitals, churches, cities and governmental groups. They serve social service agencies, assisted living facilities, homeless coalitions, prisons and group homes, civic groups and schools, neighborhood and veterans associations. Any group that accepts the five time banking values may partner with a time bank: