Community Partners Directory

Additional Resources

Community-Engaged Learning Coordinators

Social Concerns Fair

Community Engagement Awards

COVID-19 UPDATE: The current Coronavirus outbreak has ongoing, direct consequences for both the operations and needs of many community organizations. In accordance with public health guidelines, some organizations are still not able to accept on-site volunteers and some are unable to accommodate remote collaboration. Please reach out to an organization directly to learn more. Learn more

Connect with Local Community Partners

The Center for Social Concerns invites you to expand your learning and work into the neighborhoods of South Bend and beyond. Thousands of Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students take part in opportunities offered through the center and our many partners. Consider engaging with an organization in the directory below through a Community-Engaged Course, research project, or volunteer opportunity.

Community partners listed in this directory work with the center's Community-Engaged Learning Program Director to better understand the center's core principles for academic community engagement:  university/community courses, research projects, and volunteer opportunities are designed and delivered collaboratively to meet the needs of community partners as well as the learning goals of university members,  outcomes and deliverables from the collaboration are designed with community partners to advance their work and belong to them upon completion, and. the aim of such collaborations is social justice.

Seven of these partner sites host Community-Engaged Learning Coordinators (CELC) who are part of a practitioners group on community-engaged research, teaching, and learning. CELCs have significant experience partnering with individuals at Notre Dame and can help students and instructors find agencies to collaborate with in mutually beneficial ways.

Students, Faculty, and Staff: Get Started!

To start your community engagement, contact a CELC or any of the organizations listed here to ask what they need and develop ways to collaborate together. Contact the Community-Engaged Learning Program Director (Dave Lassen, dlassen@nd.edu) if you have any questions.

Community Organizations: Apply to Partner with the Center for Social Concerns

If you are a community partner who would like to be considered a partner of the Center for Social Concerns and added to this directory, contact the Community-Engaged Learning Program Director (Dave Lassen, dlassen@nd.edu). Partners of the center must:

  • Do work that aligns with the mission and values of the University and the Center for Social Concerns; 
  • Provide ongoing evidence of compliance with risk mitigation and safety efforts for volunteers;
  • Provide excellent orientation, placement, supervision, reflection, and assessment of volunteers;
  • Communicate accurately and responsively with University partners and volunteers;
  • Participate as they are able in events and activities that advance academic community engagement, such as the Social Concerns Fair.

We look forward to seeing the positive community impact that happens when we collaborate!

 
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Aging

Alzheimer’s Services of Northern Indiana/Milton Adult Day Services

Focus: 
To provide therapeutic activities to adults who need supervision during the day, many of whom have Alzheimer's disease or dementia
Poverty

Catholic Charities

Focus: 
To serve those in need as Christ would have us do. Our vision is to eradicate poverty and strengthen families to help create Generation Zero, the first generation free of poverty.
Disability Programs

Chiara Home, Inc.

Focus: 
To support families and caregivers by providing out-of-home respite care for individuals with medical and special needs.
Disability Programs

Children’s Dispensary, Inc. (A Place To Be Me)

Focus: 
Children's Dispensary provides a safe and nurturing environment for young people with developmental, physical, and cognitive disabilities where they can enhance their social interactions, learn important life skills, and enjoy new experiences.
Poverty

Christ Child Society

Focus: 
To offer, in the love and spirit of the Christ Child, personal service and clothing to all children and infants in need.
Disability Programs

Corvilla, Inc.

Focus: 
To provide homes, employment services, and educational and training programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties.
Aging

Forever Learning Institute

Focus: 
Improving the quality and dignity of senior adult life through continuing intellectual challenge, spiritual reflection, and social interaction.
Poverty

Goodwill Industries of Michiana, Inc.

Focus: 
To provide jobs, training, and placement services for people with barriers to employment.
Disability Programs

Hannah and Friends

Focus: 
To improve the quality of life for children and adults with special needs.
Disability Programs

Logan Center — CELC SITE

Focus: 
To support people with disabilities in achieving their desired quality of life.
Aging

Real Services, Inc.

Focus: 
To assist in establishing a community in which those we serve can maintain their independence to the maximum degree possible and find meaning and satisfaction throughout their lives.
Disability Programs

Reins of Life, Inc.

Focus: 
To provide equine-assisted activities and therapies to children and adults with special needs.
Aging

Sanctuary Holy Cross

Focus: 
To care for the mind, body, and spirit of those entrusted to our care as they age and are unable to remain in their homes.
Aging

Sant’Egidio Community

Focus: 
To gather regularly for common prayer and befriend the urban poor where they live, especially those who are elderly, homeless, immigrants, prisoners, or sick.
Aging

Sisters of the Holy Cross

Focus: 
To give and share educational, spiritual, and social experiences with our retired population.
Poverty

St. Vincent De Paul Society of St. Joseph County

Focus: 
To offer food, clothing, and household necessities as well as emotional, spiritual, and financial support through one-on-one interactions with those who are less fortunate and living in poverty.
Poverty

United Religious Community of St. Joseph County

Focus: 
To encourage interreligious dialogue and to provide basic assistance to individuals in need.
Poverty

United Way of St. Joseph County

Focus: 
To mobilize the community collectively to reduce poverty
View All Events

Upcoming Events

March 2023

20
Social Concerns Fair | Food Security
Monday, March 20, 2023 - 4:30pm to 6:30pm
21
Info Session: Catholic Social Tradition Minor
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 - 12:00pm
23
2023 CST Conference: Justice Sown in Peace
Thursday, March 23, 2023 - 7:00pm to Saturday, March 25, 2023 - 1:00pm
29
CST on Tap
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 - 8:00pm

April 2023

03
Social Concerns Fair | Immigration and Human Rights
Monday, April 3, 2023 - 4:30pm to 6:30pm
13
Submission Deadline: Arts of Dignity Student Art Exhibit
Thursday, April 13, 2023 - 12:00am to 11:45pm
19
Alumni Book Club | Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 - 7:00pm to 8:15pm
19
A Conversation with Sister Norma Pimentel, MJ
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 - 7:30pm
20
Arts of Dignity | Student Art Exhibition
Thursday, April 20, 2023 - 5:00pm
28
Labor Café
Friday, April 28, 2023 - 5:00pm

May 2023

19
Senior Send-Off Ceremony and Reception
Friday, May 19, 2023 - 7:00pm