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Would you like to be a positive influence on local middle-school students?  Lead lively games, discussions, and field trips with a team of volunteers?  Introduce young people to community service?  If so, Lead-ND may be perfect for you!

Lead-ND runs an after-school leadership program at several of South Bend’s intermediate centers.  The program targets seventh and eighth grade students we call “nontraditional leaders” – that is, young people who are leaders in the sense that they could have tremendous influence in their schools and communities, but have not had the opportunity to develop their skills or even have them recognized.

We hope you’ll join us in reaching these students!  We have many openings in our 2009-2010 volunteer corps as we replace graduated seniors and expand into new area schools. We seek volunteers with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.  People who are energetic, passionate, and—above all—dedicated.  Because of the diverse racial makeup of the students we serve, we make a special effort to encourage the participation of underrepresented students in our leadership structure and volunteer corps.  Continue reading for more curriculum info and volunteer testimonies, or click on the VOLUNTEER link (left) for application materials.

The Lead-ND volunteer corps works with traditionally under-resourced young people through engaging, service-based leadership development programming.  Our mission is to provide equitable after-school opportunities for South Bend youth to learn the value of community service and active citizenship.  Here’s what some Lead-ND volunteers are saying about their work with the middle school students:

I expected to bond with the kids but I was surprised at how much we actually did.  It was awesome to learn about the kids and their personalities and watch how they worked together and how they interacted with the Lead-ND people –Lara Roach

[The students] were all just really good hearted kids who needed a venue to foster leadership opportunities. Lead-ND offered that avenue…I truly enjoyed my time with Lead-ND this past year. Lead-ND opened my mind and widened my heart. I feel my time with Lead-ND is why I consider my sophomore year so much more fulfilled than my freshman year –Hogan Miller

Lead-ND was the same as far as the challenges I expected to encounter: catching the kids’ attention, coming up with creative activities, and organizing events. It also was just as much fun as I expected. [Also] I had a great teacher sponsor at Marshall who really helped us get things rolling and was very supportive –Nicole Fortuna

The Lead-ND curriculum incorporates a wide variety of subjects from communication to appreciating diversity and resolving group conflict.  Interactive activities create powerful, fun learning situations for both the students and college mentors:

We had just finished one of our activities [in the diversity unit] and we were sitting in a circle discussing what everyone thought/learned from the activity.  The discussion evolved from being solely the kids answering the questions we prepared in regards to the activity to more of a discussion about their thoughts on race, stereotypes, and society today.  Not only were the kids asking us candid questions about our views but also we had the opportunity to ask the kids how they felt about issues much larger than the activity or unit we were working on.  This was one of the first times it seemed the roles of kids and ND volunteers kind of disappeared within a discussion context. –Katelyn Lentz

Well one of the funniest moments happened when we were playing the over, under, through game. One of our kids who already accomplished his task came up with a great way to entertain us. Since his shirt was already tucked in (so that it wouldn’t touch any of the ropes) he thought it would be funny to pull his shorts up all the way to his chest. Then he proceeded to do cheerleader toe-touch jumps …overall, we had a great session that day. All of the kids were having a lot of fun and I think it’s when we began to click as a group –Nicole Fortuna

Youth apply these skills during the year by attending fieldtrips and planning community action projects.  Overall, the theme is simple: Servant Leadership.

I wasn’t able to go to [our final service activity] but one of the kids from our school borrowed Molly’s cell phone and called me.  He told me all about what they were doing and how much fun it had been.  He was really excited and it was a great feeling that he was having such a good time and that he called to share that with me. –Lara Roach

My favorite Lead-ND moment was [National and Global Youth Service Day]. My group went to a nursing home to talk to the residents and to paint flower pots. Initially this activity seemed pain-free; however, once we got to the nursing home the residents were not only senior citizens, most were obviously very sick. Our group of students stepped up to the plate. Although there were tentative at first, by the end of the day they were comfortable working with these people. While working with Lead-ND it’s hard to see if the students are learning what we are trying to teach them. Through NYSD, we were able to see that through Lead-ND the students we are working with are growing. –Sarah Wanek

If you’d like to experience some of the things just described—bonding with middle school students, working with local teachers and administrators, engaging in games and candid discussion, laughing with your students, and working side by side in service—then look to Lead-ND.

Come out to meet us at activities night (Tuesday, September 8) or look for posters advertising our multiple information sessions.  There we’ll answer your questions, from “what’s the time commitment” to “what will I actually be doing?” to “how’d this all begin, anyway?”  In the meantime, we encourage you to email our club account (leadnd@nd.edu) with any questions or join our facebook group, Lead-ND.  And remember: “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve” –Martin Luther King Jr.