Notre Dame School welcomed the major donors of its $12 million capital campaign to tour the renovated building on Wednesday, April 20.  The capital campaign, “Hearts & Hammers”, was chaired by long-time volunteer and supporter of NDS, Mary Terry.  Bishop Kevin Farrell blessed the building and thanked the donors who support the mission of the school which serves students with intellectual disabilities. 

School principal, Theresa Francis, recognized The Rees-Jones Foundation for their leading gift of $2 million which helped bring additional donors to the campaign.  The Mike & Mary Terry Family Foundation contributed a generous $1,000,000 gift, as did former NDS parent, Charles Phipps.  Other major donors include Crystal Charity Ball, the Shannon and Jeff Estes Family, Hoblitzelle Foundation, Hillcrest Foundation, The Constantin Foundation, The Meadows Foundation, Harold Simmons Foundation, Matejek Family Foundation and Jake L. and Nancy B. Hamon Foundation.

Renovations on the 60 year old facility began on May 31, 2015.  Designed by architecture firm Perkins+Will, the renovated school features additional classrooms and designated speech therapy room.  Joeris General Contractors oversaw the construction.  “Basically, the building was gutted and completely redesigned to accommodate our current and future needs.  Construction started the first day of summer, and we were able to welcome students back into their new school 99 days later.  It was an aggressive construction timeline to say the least!” explained Francis. 

Donors had the opportunity to tour the building, interact with the students and experience first-hand how their donations have impacted these students with special needs.  

Notre Dame School educates students with intellectual disabilities and facilitates their integration into society.  As the only school in Dallas exclusively serving this student population, Notre Dame is a unique educational resource in our city and provides special education to 150 students ages 8 to 21.  Notre Dame School is a Catholic school and is sponsored by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. It is located in Uptown, just north of downtown Dallas.

To date, the campaign has raised $11 million.  For more information about Notre Dame School, please visit www.notredameschool.org.