Robinson Community Learning Center

During the 2000-2001 Academic Year, the Center for Social Concerns worked closely with residents of the Northeast Neighborhood to dream and envision possible uses for the former Goodwill building located just south of campus in the Northeast Neighborhood.  The collaborative effort gave birth to the Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC).  Following is the RCLC’s mission:

The Robinson Community Learning Center welcomes community and Notre Dame partners that strengthen the Northeast Neighborhood of South Bend through relationship-building and educational opportunities.  By promoting innovation and excellence, the Center builds individual capacity and enhances existing systems throughout South Bend.

Students from a variety of Notre Dame courses volunteer at the RCLC; many participate in its Take Ten program addressing violence among young people. Staff members of the RCLC host classes, during which students are informed of the purpose and philosophy of the RCLC and about how it participates within the neighborhood around it.

The Center maintains a particularly vital mutual relationship with the RCLC. With the assistance of the Center, the RCLC has taken the lead on facilitating the Lead Alliance, a coalition to mitigate lead hazards faced by South Bend children.  The Center has also worked with the RCLC to win a HUD Community Outreach Partnership Centers federal grant. RCLC Executive Director Jay Caponigro teaches a one-credit Seminar on community organizing that is offered as part of the Center's Social Concerns Seminar series (see Academic Courses and Programs). Caponigro has written articles and presented at conferences with Center staff as well.

For more information, please visit the Robinson Community Learning Center’s web site at: http://www.nd.edu/~rclc/