Notre Dame partners with community organizations for Walk the Walk Week service project
Nearly 300 students from the University of Notre Dame took over Duncan Student Center on Feb. 1 to sort through thousands of donated items to create winter and personal care kits for this year’s Walk the Walk Week service project.
The campus-wide donation drive launched in early January and encouraged faculty, staff and students to donate new supplies, including personal hygiene items, socks, waterproof gloves, winter hats, diapers and more. All donations were distributed to four local organizations serving individuals in the South Bend region facing hardship and housing insecurity: Center for the Homeless, Hope Ministries, Our Lady of the Road and St. Margaret’s House.
"It’s great to see the Notre Dame community come out in solidarity and support of this important service project,” says Ethan Chiang, Notre Dame Student Government’s director of South Bend Engagement. “We are supporting local organizations that help the unhoused population in South Bend.”
“I am just thrilled to be at this incredible event. The support we will get from this event is so helpful to the women and children we serve and we are so grateful.”
In total, nearly 3,000 items were donated by Notre Dame faculty and staff and 721 winter and personal care kits were assembled by students. In addition, students made blankets and wrote personal notes for the care kits that were distributed on Feb 3.
“I am just thrilled to be at this incredible event,” says Katie Elliot, executive director of St. Margaret’s House. “The support we will get from this event is so helpful to the women and children we serve and we are so grateful.”
The event was co-sponsored by Notre Dame Student Government, the Office of Public Affairs and Communications, and Procurement Services in partnership with the Office of the President.
Walk the Walk Week is a week-long series of University, department, and student-sponsored events to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, and took place this year from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1.
Originally published by at publicaffairs.nd.edu on Feb. 6, 2025.
Latest ND NewsWire
- Notre Dame to host summit on AI, faith and human flourishing, introducing new DELTA frameworkThe Institute for Ethics and the Common Good and the Notre Dame Ethics Initiative will host the Notre Dame Summit on AI, Faith and Human Flourishing on the University’s campus from Monday, Sept. 22 through Thursday, Sept. 25. This event will draw together a dynamic, ecumenical group of educators, faith leaders, technologists, journalists, policymakers and young people who believe in the enduring relevance of Christian ethical thought in a world of powerful AI.
- Notre Dame Democracy Initiative hosts bipartisan conversation with Western state governorsTwo Western state governors known to work across the aisle on policy issues such as water, housing and energy will visit the University of Notre Dame for a fireside chat about how Western state pragmatism can serve as a model for the country to overcome polarization.
- In new research, Roy Scranton explores climate change and the limits of human progressIn his most recent book, “Impasse: Climate Change and the Limits of Progress,” Scranton, an associate professor of English, defines the impasse he sees as “not only political and institutional, but cognitive, existential and narrative” and asserts that the only path forward is through embracing what he terms ethical pessimism. “A lot of people confuse pessimism with nihilism, apathy and despair,” Scranton said. “But pessimism is actually about recognizing our limits, letting go of unrealistic goals, finding solidarity in the fact of human suffering and doing what you can now, not in some utopian future.
- Notre Dame MBA launches deferred admission programThe Notre Dame MBA Deferred Admission Program allows candidates with little or no work experience, including college seniors, to secure admission before reaching the recommended three years of work experience to enroll.
- ‘Prebunking’ false election claims may boost trust in electionsIn recent years, democracies worldwide have seen a growing erosion of trust in election outcomes and institutions, driven in part by fears of widespread fraud. New Notre Dame research finds that “prebunking” — providing accurate information before false claims spread — boosts trust in elections more effectively than traditional fact-checking.
- ND experts on the canonization of Carlo AcutisAs the Church awaits the ceremony in St. Peter’s Square, where Pope Leo XIV will formally declare Acutis a saint, University of Notre Dame experts Kathleen Sprows Cummings, Brett Robinson and Timothy O’Malley reflect on his life and his path to sainthood.
