ORMOND CHAPEL

Thanks to the generosity of the Ormond community, our Chapel is getting a new slate roof which will ensure this treasured building at our community’s heart stands strong for centuries to come.

Last year, the Ormond Chapel celebrated 100 years since it first opened as the MacFarland Library. With its beautiful stained-glass windows, the lofty Chapel in Main Building is now a space for prayer, reflection and congregation for people of “all faiths and none”. It is also a muchloved venue for musical performances, theatre productions and guest speakers.

Weather and age had considerably affected the Chapel. The entire slate roof needed replacing to prevent water damage to the Chapel and Main Building, and the $140,000 quote for these works was beyond the College’s modest maintenance budget.

We put the call out to our incredible community for help through our Annual Giving campaign and were deeply moved by the response. A total of $195,000 was raised to replace the roof, including a generous donation from Neville and Di Bertalli of $140,000. This significant support has meant that in addition to replacing the Chapel roof, we have been able to undertake much needed repairs to the adjoining structures with the works now underway.

Neville reflected: “Replacing the Chapel roof was an urgent maintenance task to be done. It’s one of the many building jobs that must be addressed to care for Ormond’s heritage campus and keep pace with the needs of students, now and into the future. We felt quick action by ourselves will set a precedent for further fundraising.”

Our capital projects strategy is part of an ongoing commitment to the conservation of our magnificent buildings, and would not be possible without the continued support and generosity of the Ormond community.