Successful Kick-Off Event Marks New Chapter for UUCR

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
May 21, 2025

Roanoke, VA – On May 21, 2025, to a sell-out crowd, “Building Our Vision” Campaign Kick-Off Celebration, Campaign Chairman Gordon Malczewski announced that the astonishing sum of $1,716,500 has been raised to date for the renovations, repair, and restoration of the buildings and grounds of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke.

Marking the first capital campaign in the church’s history, this 14-week fundraising effort was originally slated to raise $1 million in total to pay for this building project, the first renovation since the UUCR purchased the church property in 1985 as well as the first capital campaign for the church.

Malczewski also serves as UUCR board president and was instrumental in engaging Klote & Associates for campaign fundraising counsel full-time in Roanoke, advancing a contract extension after only four weeks.

“With the assistance of the Klote team, the “Building Our Vision” campaign has already exceeded all our expectations,” said Malczewski. “We can now truly get going on our ‘must do’ improvement projects, long overdue.”

The standing-room-only event not only provided drinks and dinner for the 100+ guests but also featured entertainment by local favorites Star City Swag who delivered their distinct combination of jazz and rock, inspiring the lively crowd to dance well into the evening.

Campaign co-chair and lead architect, Celeste Lee, commented, “What’s almost more impressive than the 1.7+ million dollars raised is that we are only halfway through the campaign. All of us are excited to see what the next phase will bring (and how much we can do with it!).”

Rob Carter of James D. Klote & Associates serves as capital campaign consultant to the UUCR’s “Building Our Vision” campaign. James D. Klote & Associates is a full-time, on-site capital stewardship consulting firm with offices in Falls Church, Virginia as well as Dallas, Chicago, Toronto, and Los Angeles.