The Notre Dame Alumni Association’s annual Family Volunteer Camp in July is remembering Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., with its first-ever theme, “Honoring Father Ted through participating: An event deeply rooted in his values.”
The camp invites alumni families to campus to spend a week doing volunteer work at community partner sites and to reconnect with the University of Notre Dame and each other. Children ages 9 and older come with their parents to participate in service projects while learning about the University’s commitment to giving back. After Father Ted passed away at the age of 97 in February, the camp’s organizers wanted to honor his legacy of service by dedicating this year’s camp to him.
Molly Butler, service programs director for the Alumni Association, said, “We have a lot of young kids who have experienced Father Ted through their parents. It’s really neat that they come do this.”
The Family Volunteer Camp is a popular event among alumni, this year bringing 74 families from 23 states to South Bend to volunteer at 25 community partner sites. The camp is so popular that the Alumni Association added a third week this year, and instituted a lottery for spots, ensuring that a variety of families would be able to experience it. The first week is July 5-10, the next is July 19-24 and the third week takes place July 26-31.
Each week, about 25 families come to Notre Dame to work with community partners including St. Margaret’s House, La Casa de Amistad, Green Bridge Growers, Reins of Life, Corvilla and many others. Projects include a range of work from changing light bulbs to serving lunch to taking Corvilla residents on an outing to the Potawatomi Zoo.
Families also have the opportunity to experience Notre Dame and South Bend by staying in residence halls on campus and attending a South Bend Cubs game, ice skating and having an ice cream social, among other activities.
Registration for this year’s camp is closed. Information for the 2016 camp will be made available in January.
Contact: Molly Butler, Alumni Association, 574-631-6723, mbutler2@nd.edu
Originally published by at news.nd.edu on July 09, 2015.