Join us on April 9th for Neon Garden's Fund-a-Need! ✨

Dear Members of the Villa Family and Community,

As we have previously communicated to the community, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus recently decided to place the land adjacent to Villa Academy’s core facilities for sale. With much excitement and enthusiasm, we then shared that the Villa’s Board of Trustees has established a process to explore purchasing a parcel of land directly from the Sisters.

Villa exists in its current form today because our predecessors took action on a dream of which we are the beneficiaries. It is now our community’s turn to continue the legacy for other generations to follow. Through conversations with major donors and the support of the Board of Trustees, our initial fundraising efforts to support a proposal to the Sisters are off to a great start! 

We want to build on this wonderful momentum and invite each family to have the opportunity to make a difference for our students and show our strength of commitment to the Sisters. At the auction on April 9th, our raise the paddle Fund-a-Need will go to the Special Capital Campaign to raise funds to purchase an appropriate parcel of the Sisters’ land. 

Expanding upon Villa's property line is contingent upon the collective power of our generous community's participation—every dollar counts as much as everyone's involvement. Your support affords us the incredible opportunity to ensure that our commitment to excellence in whole-child education remains enriched by additional permanent outdoor education experiences, and our affordability is a question of that power, not simply a parcel. The Land Task Force, serving as our trusted stewards, will leverage the total donation in Villa's best financial interests—our fundraising initiatives are more important than ever to put forth the strongest proposal. What we do together today will set the stage for current and future Villa students for generations to come.

Neon Garden is more than an auction this year—it's a long-overdue opportunity for our community to celebrate together and unify under this call to action to expand our beloved school's property line and envision a new legacy. Please join us for this momentous occasion on April 9th! Please direct any questions or queries to landsale@thevilla.org or go to our website to learn more. Thank you for your continued support as we respond to this historic opportunity to increase Villa’s dedicated outdoor learning space.


With deep gratitude,

Julie Thenell Grasseschi, Interim Head of School


Please note: If for any reason, Villa’s future proposal to the Sisters to purchase an appropriate parcel of their land is not accepted, the 2022 Fund-a-Need will be used to support financial assistance for students.