Darke County’s community foundation started as the HOPE Foundation in 1987 and was re-named the Darke County Foundation in 2014. The Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life in Darke County by receiving, managing, and distributing charitable gifts for the benefit of local residents. The Foundation supports areas such as education, the arts, health and well-being, community projects, and conservation/preservation.

The Friends of St. Denis is a new non-profit organization made up of parish members, formed to facilitate funds for capital improvement projects undertaken by the parish. Specifically, as written in the bylaws of the Friends of St. Denis; The purpose of this organization is to work in cooperation with the St. Denis Parish Council in a common goal to fund renovation, maintenance and upkeep projects for the St. Denis Catholic Church and its grounds and facilities; in its present needs and to provide an avenue of support for the funding of future projects.

The Friends of St. Denis has partnered with the Darke County Foundation for administrative support to manage the receipt of donations and distribution of funds for capital improvement project expenses of St. Denis parish.

Yes, all donations made through the Friends of St. Denis in coordination with the Darke County Foundation will be tax deductible. The Friends of St. Denis and the Darke County Foundation are registered with the IRS as 501 (c) (3) non-profit organizations. Annual statements of contributions made to the Friends of St. Denis will be provided by the Darke County Foundation.

Records of all donations will be held in confidence. Any public recognition of donors will be done only with permission.

a. You may donate by check mailed to Darke County Foundation, P.O. Box 438, Greenville Ohio 45331. Checks should be made payable to “Darke County Foundation”, the memo line of the check should state “Friends of St. Denis”. This is the preferred method as there are no processing fees. b. You may donate online by credit card at the Darke County Foundation website (darkecountyfoundation.org), select the “donate” button, select the “donate to any fund button”, select the “Friends of St. Denis Fund”, and complete the process by providing the amount of your donation and the requested personal and payment information. This payment method incurs a 3% processing fee, with an option to add the fee to your donation if desired. c. You may donate directly at church by writing a check made payable to “Darke County Foundation”, the memo line of the check should state “Friends of St. Denis”; and deposited in special envelopes that will be provided at Mass. d. In the event that you desire to donate to the project but none of the above options meet your needs, you may contact any Friends of St. Denis board member and accommodations will be made.

At a parish council meeting last fall, at the request of Fr. Ned, a team was formed to evaluate the landscape of the entire parish grounds with the goal of renewing and revitalizing the landscape. It has been approximately 30 years since the landscaping has been updated. Over the years, it has become in dire need of a facelift. Plantings, trees, shrubs have become overgrown with the lawn needing replaced as well. The Blessed Virgin Mary grotto was in disarray with weeds and outdated design features, needing to be redesigned and updated.

Close inspection was given determining that many of the trees had dead areas, overgrowth into electrical wires, were beginning to buckle sidewalks and presented problems with roosting birds and the resulting mess created on the adjacent sidewalks and vehicles. Other trees simply needed to be removed due to inappropriate size for the area.

There are trees incorporated into the new design to enhance the landscape and complement the three main focal points (church front entrance, parish signage, and the Virgin Mary Garden). However, there will be no trees planted in the grass areas between the sidewalks and the road so that we are not faced with the same issues in the future that led us to take down the existing trees.

Although the garage project is outside the scope of the assignment made to the Landscape Beautification Team, it became apparent in the early stages of evaluating the landscape options that the condition of the garage needed to be addressed. The garage is 57 years old with a crumbling foundation, major cracks in the floor, and insufficient water drainage. It is also in need of new windows, siding, and roof. The current roof is 36 years old with the shingle composition washing onto the ground with rain. After much consultation with local contractors and deliberation, the decision was made that a new 2 ½ car structure would be more cost effective than repairing the existing garage. It was determined necessary to remedy the garage issues prior to upgrading the landscape to prevent disturbing the new landscape to address garage repairs that would inevitably occur in the very near future.

Several members of the team visited area parishes to determine what features would be best for our church. The architectural design of the church and the land contours were considered. Major emphasis was given in choosing low maintenance plantings and trees for the future. In addition, direction from Fr. Ned was that the plan should be in line with sound Catholic doctrine, preserve our community’s historical and cultural heritage, and have three main focal points (church front entrance, prominent signage, and a Virgin Mary Garden). All of the current statues will be incorporated into the design, enhancing those areas. Renderings were drawn by a professional landscaping designer.

Pleiman Landscaping is the company that we have aligned with for this project. They were chosen on the strength of their landscape design skills and experience with complex hardscape design and implementation. With strong recommendations of prior customers and the desire to establish a relationship with a local contractor, Pleiman Landscaping was determined to be the best fit for the scope of the project. The closest local installation of a project of this magnitude is Do Good Restaurant in Osgood which was also designed, installed, and supported by Pleiman Landscaping. Throughout the process there were three plan options proposed by the designers to meet the prerequisite focal points provided by Fr. Ned to include: 1) welcoming church front entrance, 2) prominent St. Denis signage and 3) a Virgin Mary Garden. Due to the complexity of the project scope and the references of prior customers, the committee felt comfortable limiting the design and quotation process to Pleiman Landscaping.

Yes, the purpose of the Virgin Mary Garden is to provide a setting for activities such as meditation and solitude as well as prayer and worship events. In addition, the Youth Ministry and CCD programs will use the Virgin Mary Garden for religious education and spiritual formation purposes. There are a number of seating areas incorporated into the plan design.

Yes, lighting of the key focal points of the landscape (church front entrance, parish signage, and the Virgin Mary Garden) is incorporated into the landscape design. The lighting will be on a timer that can be set for a variety of lighting options. In addition, the committee is also exploring options to light the bell tower.

Yes, all of the existing statues and devotionals will remain in their current locations.

The original bell which is mounted on a brick structure located in the lawn west of the garage will not be incorporated into the new landscape at this time. The bell will be kept and could perhaps be relocated somewhere within the parish property.

Yes, but all annual plantings will be limited to flowerpots that are strategically placed throughout the property. Watering of these annual plantings would be handled via drip irrigation tied into the irrigation system.

The white wooded fence was removed due to deterioration and ongoing maintenance requirements. Fencing is not included in the new plan design because fences create a barrier to access and the plan concept called for unrestricted access, clear lines of sight and a welcoming reception to all areas of the parish grounds, particularly to the Virgin Mary Garden.

Yes, various options are being evaluated considering both aesthetics and cost. There are no great alternatives given the limitations of the property with no easily concealed areas. The most likely scenario is relocating the dumpsters and constructing an enclosure to hide them from view.

Even with low maintenance selections, maintenance will be necessary to protect this significant investment. Several area parishes have engaged their parishioners in a volunteer program in which teams of families, friends, parish groups, etc. have been developed to care for designated areas. This would be organized with a coordinator for ultimate success and has worked well at other parishes. The hope is that the same type of volunteer program can be implemented at St. Denis. In addition, to minimize the upkeep requirement and enhance the beauty of the landscape, we are incorporating an irrigation system into the plan design. Arrangements have been made with the irrigation contractor to provide programming assistance and to annually winterize the system at no charge to the parish. It is likely that lawn fertilization and weed control services will be contracted. Other general upkeep and maintenance will be managed by parish staff utilizing the services of subcontractors as deemed necessary.

Arrangements have been made with the irrigation contractor to provide programming assistance and to annually winterize the system at no charge to the parish. It is likely that lawn fertilization and weed control services will be contracted. Other general upkeep and maintenance will be managed by parish staff utilizing the services of subcontractors as deemed necessary.

The total project cost will be approximately $220,000. This includes design services, all trees, bushes, plants and mulch, lawn seeding and soil, all hardscape (concrete, retaining wall, pavers, seat walls, rosary path emblems, bubbling rock fountain, river rock), benches, flower pots, irrigation system, lighting, parish sign, and flag pole relocation.

It has been over 35 years since our parish has undertaken a capital improvement campaign. It is the hope that parishioners will be excited about this major landscape beautification project and support the initiative with prayer and financial assistance. The committee is also looking into applying for several local grants. The garage renovation will be financed with existing parish funds on deposit.

If we are blessed to have collected more that the requirement to fund this project all remaining funds will be invested in a Friends of St. Denis interest bearing account to be used for future landscape maintenance requirements and for other renovation projects to our church facilities and grounds.

a. You may donate by check mailed to Darke County Foundation, P.O. Box 438, Greenville, Ohio 45331. Checks should be made payable to "Darke County Foundation", the memo line of check should state "Friends of St Denis". This is the preferred method as there are no processing fees. b. You may donate online by credit card at the Darke County Foundation website (darkecountyfoundation.org), select the "donate" button, select the "donate to any fund" button, select the "Friends of St. Denis Fund", and complete the process by providing the amount of your donation and the requested personal and payment information. This payment method incurs a 3% processing fee, with an option to add the fee to your donation if desired. c. You may donate directly at church by writing a check made payable to "Darke County Foundation", the memo line of the check should state "Friends of St. Denis", and deposited in the special envelopes that will be provided at Mass. d. In the event that you desire to donate to the project but none of the above options meet your needs, you may contact any Friends of St. Denis board member and accommodations will be made.