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"The trip
really makes me feel fulfilled and I can‘t even describe
to anyone the sense of family I get when I‘m there. It‘s
incredible.
I feel like this experience has changed my life..."
~ Katie Collins ‘03
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.....In January of 1992,
Fr. Larry Carroll, Assistant Principal of Notre Dame Catholic
High School in Fairfield, learned of a need for people to
come to the Appalachian Mountain region to help restore and improve
the living conditions of many people in the mountains. In June of
1992, eight members of the ND community, under the leadership of Fr.
Carroll,
traveled 800 miles to Dunlow, West Virginia where they joined 150
other volunteers from around the country. Divided into smaller groups
and performing tasks such as repairing roofs, floors, plumbing and
porches, the students had the chance to interact with the local people
as well as other volunteers. |
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..... Word soon spread about the success of
the club and in June, 1993, they returned to Dunlow thirty strong. In subsequent
years, the club size ballooned to over 100 members and by 1995, fifty students,
alumni, faculty, and community members traveled to West Virginia to continue
their good work. Students quickly realized the impact they were having upon
the lives of the local residents as well as the significant impact they
were making upon themselves. Notre Dame students have always, and will always
have, a real interest and desire to help those who are less fortunate than
themselves.
..... For the sixth straight
year, Notre Dame students will return to Neon, Kentucky, population 1,000.
Following a fourteen hour drive, an expected group of nearly forty five,
will work in the former coal-mining community. A town which has experienced
immense poverty and poor living conditions, Neon is in need of tremendous
help from willing volunteers. Notre Dame will work with HOMES, Inc., (Housing
Oriented Ministries Established for Service) a non-profit organization committed
to building homes for those living below the poverty line and in existence
since 1984. The next trip is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 to Sunday, June 29. |
