Philanthropy class students award $58,000 to local nonprofits

2024-12-17T19:53:00-05:00

University of Notre Dame students awarded $58,000 to five local nonprofits through this year’s Philanthropy and the Common Good class. The award ceremony Dec. 9 was led by Jonathan Hannah, term assistant teaching professor of political science and assistant director for operations of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture.

Philanthropy and the Common Good is an experiential learning course in collaboration among the Department of Political Science, the Hesburgh Program in Public Service and the Potenziani Minor in Constitutional 91��Ƶ. The primary sponsor, The Philanthropy Lab, helps fund similar courses around the country.

“Teaching this course and having this experience with our students is truly an honor and a privilege,” Hannah said. “They exemplify everything it means to be Notre Dame students, and I know they will go on to impact their communities and the world by working with and for nonprofit organizations.”

Students in this class engage and learn from local nonprofit organizations in the South Bend region by conducting site visits and requesting funding proposals. Students spend time analyzing the proposals and work as a board of directors to award real grants.

At the award ceremony, students presented checks to the nonprofit recipients, and Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., delivered remarks.

“This event is a culmination of everything that we have been working toward this semester,” said Maya Tuviera, a Notre Dame sophomore who was assigned to Our Lady of the Road.

“At Notre Dame, we shouldn’t just be striving toward giving people the opportunity to survive. Here, it’s about human flourishing and how we can best achieve that and work as a community to do that. I am proud of everything that has happened, and I am happy to see these funds go to great causes in this community,” she said.

The students awarded grants to the following nonprofits that are making significant strides in addressing critical community needs:

Center for the Homeless — $5,000
Christ Child Society — $6,375
Dustin’s Place — $13,625
Our Lady of the Road — $15,000
Dismas House — $18,000

“It’s such a great gift to participate in this project,” said Jonathan Schommer, executive director of Our Lady of the Road.

Schommer, who worked directly with Tuviera and other students throughout the class, said the funds will go toward the organization’s work to ensure people experiencing homelessness have survival supplies and other critical resources needed during the winter months. He praised the class for its ability to foster stronger connections between Notre Dame and the South Bend region.

“This class is a really great example of the connection between Notre Dame and the community,” Schommer said. “It’s a tangible way for our nonprofits to partner with the University to work toward the common good in our community.”

Since its inception in 2019, the Philanthropy and the Common Good course has awarded more than $400,000 in grants to local nonprofits. At the ceremony, Hannah announced that the course will be offered again in the fall 2025 semester for its seventh iteration.

The course was supported by several University offices, including the Office of Public Affairs, de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, Department of Political Science and Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise and Society, and by 1976 alumnus Brian Hegarty.

Originally published by Colleen Wilcox, Office of Public Affairs, at publicaffairs.nd.edu on Dec. 15.

Students ‘Back the Bend’ through a day of service in South Bend

2024-04-02T08:00:00-04:00

It’s true what they say: Teamwork makes the dream work. On March 23, more than 550 University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College and Holy Cross College students took part in Back the Bend, an annual day of service in and around South Bend.

With support from the Robinson Community Learning Center and more than 20 local nonprofit organizations, students did yardwork, cleaned, painted, organized donations and participated in a variety of special events. It was the 13th year for the event, which is organized by Notre Dame Student Government. This year’s theme for Back the Bend was “Unity in CommUNITY.”

“In all, there were 25 service sites around the South Bend area,” said Kate Jackowski, a Notre Dame senior and the director of community outreach with Student Government. “I am so grateful to the volunteers, the student site captains and the community and nonprofit partners who worked together to make sure the day ran smoothly. We could not have done it without everyone working together.”

Tolu Adeyemo, a Notre Dame sophomore, volunteered at A Rosie Place, a nonprofit that serves children who are medically fragile. Staff and the volunteers hosted a spring party for children and their families.

“I volunteered for Back the Bend because I don’t get into the community much. This experience has been eye-opening. Overall, this has been a great experience,” Adeyemo said.

Students also spread mulch, supplied by the city, as part of Mulch Madness, an annual event that operates as part of Back the Bend and is organized by the Notre Dame Lead Innovation Team (ND-LIT) and affiliated students. The event also included free child lead poisoning testing by the St. Joseph County Health Department as well as soil sample analysis by ND-LIT.

“There were 173 volunteers in the Near Northwest Neighborhood, mulching around 40 houses and outside St. Paul Bethel Baptist Church, the new community playground, Unity Gardens, and the public areas around the big, red Adirondack birthday chair on the 800 block of Portage Avenue,” said Sean Miller, a junior studying science and business and a co-director for Mulch Madness.

“The soil samples from nearly every location had lead content that exceeded EPA safety levels, which highlights the importance of raising awareness about the lead problem in South Bend neighborhoods,” Miller added.

Read about South Bend’s vulnerability to lead exposure and how ND-LIT is helping.

Originally published by Colleen Wilcox, Office of Public Affairs, at publicaffairs.nd.edu on March 27.

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Philanthropy class students award $58,000 to local nonprofits

Students ‘Back the Bend’ through a day of service in South Bend