Community makeover: Family leads volunteer effort to transform St. Philip Neri School

Photo caption: St. Philip Neri preschool students, from left, Nayeli Torres, Betzaida Guillen, Ana Leon, Evelin Romero and Arturo Pena enjoy the refurbished look at their school along with Terri Rodriguez, principal at St. Philip Neri and Holy Cross Central schools in Indianapolis. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

The trip past his old grade school was supposed to be a quick one for John Sponsel—just a chance to show his brother who was visiting from Florida the old neighborhood, the old church and the old school that had once filled their family’s life with so many memories.

Yet when John and Bernie Sponsel stopped at St. Philip Neri School in Indianapolis in late August, they were saddened to see that the building no longer looked as good as they had remembered it. Even the grass needed to be cut and the trees needed to be trimmed.

“We told each other, ‘That’s too bad,’ ” John recalls. “Later that day, Bernie and I looked at each other and said, ‘We need to go back to St. Philip and do what we need to do.’ We went back and cut the grass and trimmed the trees.”

It was just the beginning—the beginning of the makeover of a building and the beginning of one family’s commitment to a school that had made such a difference in their lives.

This fall, the five brothers and two

sisters of the Sponsel family organized and led more than 50 volunteers who have helped to transform the school by cleaning hallways, painting classrooms, pulling weeds and even re-striping the playground for use as a kickball field.

“I’m a proud east sider, and St. Philip’s is still my school,” says John, now a member of Holy Spirit Parish in Indianapolis. “You have a real proud tradition of being from the east side. Growing up in St. Philip’s, we often talked about the large families there. We all knew each other, and that’s carried over as the years have gone by. My grade school class of ’75, we still get together.

“Helping the school started as something I wanted to do. But, as I was doing it, the challenge was more and the need was more. I knew I needed help. I put out the word, and the people were there. People from all parts of the city came to help. It just started snowballing.”

Former classmates were among the helpers. So were students from Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis, and members of the men’s club from St. Simon the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis.

One of the best moments for Sponsel came on a recent Sunday when his volunteer crew continued its work at the school.

“We saw all the kids who were there on a Sunday,” he says. “It’s fun to see them playing on the kickball diamond. You want to see young people playing and studying in a good, clean environment.”

That commitment and caring is needed by urban Catholic schools, said Connie Zittnan, the director of the Catholic Urban School Consortium in the archdiocese.

“The mission of teaching children in our urban Catholic schools can only be successful when our broader Catholic and neighboring communities come together with us in sharing time, talent and treasure,” Zittnan said. “The wonderful volunteer opportunity shared at St. Philip Neri is the kind of support that is needed and appreciated by our faculties, school families and parishes we serve.”

Terri Rodriguez, principal at St. Philip Neri and Holy Cross Central schools, agreed.

“Working with alumni, current teachers and the other members of the Catholic community to beautify St. Philip Neri is a sure path to success,” Rodriguez said.

Sponsel believes that he, his siblings and the other volunteers have benefited just as much. His family has agreed to continue its help at the school.

“My mom worked there for 25 years as the parish secretary,” he says. “My dad worked on the parish council and with the Boy Scouts at the parish. We just want to help any way we can.”

(The Catholic Urban School Consortium, comprised of St. Andrew & St. Rita Catholic Academy, St. Anthony School, Central Catholic School, Holy Angels School, Holy Cross Central School and St. Philip Neri School—all in Indianapolis—is dedicated to providing a high quality education with a strong spiritual base leading students of all faiths to secondary and post-secondary education. For more information about the consortium, contact Heidi Nightingale, director of consortium marketing and special events, at 317-592-4067.) †