Service Day Makes a Difference for Students, for Community

Delaney Butterfield, Staff Writer, Advanced Journalism

Each year, students and staff at Notre Dame go to various service sites around Green Bay and do three hours of service. This is the eighteenth year that Notre Dame has participated in NDA Serves and, like every year, the experience was as meaningful for the students as it was helpful to the sites.

“I thought it was a great way to get kids out into the community,” said freshman Olivia Vanden Elzen. “I chose Goodwill for my service site, and it brought me, and I’m sure many others, out of my comfort zone.”

The day of service ties back to Notre Dame’s Catholic faith.  Former president Michael Gross was the visionary who introduced the concept.

“When I first came to NDA 20 years ago, the school was doing a walk as a fund-raiser.  The whole school would walk–I think it was six miles–and students had to get pledges to support their walk,” said English teacher Carolyn Brown.

There is wide variety of sites for students to choose from. They include serving anywhere from GRACE schools, to Baird’s Creek, to nursing homes. There are even sites at Notre Dame, such as helping set up for the annual rummage sale.

However, while the freshman, junior, and senior classes were out at their service sites, the sophomore class was busy at school taking the ACT Aspire.

“I wish we would have been able to still do NDA Serves,” said sophomore Jenn Cluckey. “I like being out in the community better, but I still liked that the sophomores were able to have a shortened day.”

NDA Serves is an exciting day for students and faculty alike. It gets people out of the classroom and out into the local community.

“I liked the feeling of knowing that I made their overwhelming jobs a little bit easier,” said Vanden Elzen. “I am definitely looking forward to the NDA Serves in my future years at Notre Dame.”

Photos of Service Day are posted on the NDA Tritonian Facebook page as well as the school’s Facebook page.