There are over 1,300 Notre Dame Alumni living in San Diego County. That is an impressive number considering we are 2,100 miles away from our beloved University. (Apparently, I am not the only one who figured out the weather and surrounding landscape is a little bit nicer in San Diego.)
The Notre Dame Alumni Club of San Diego offers a wide array of activities for alumni and the rest of the Notre Dame family, which includes students, parents of students, and others who take a strong interest in Notre Dame and the values it represents.
For those who love Notre Dame football, come out for a game watch gathering or access game tickets that have been made available to the club.
If you are looking to make professional connections or learn about career opportunities, join the Notre Dame Professionals at their next Mixer or Company Tour.
Do you still carry on the tradition of service instilled in us while at Notre Dame? Help serve dinner to the homeless at St. Vincent De Paul, host summer service students, volunteer for the Charity Auction, or participate in the Halloween Candy Drive.
There are also activities organized for current students, Young Alums, and Senior Alums. And, for all alumni, come out and listen to a Notre Dame professor or administrator at a Hesburgh Lecture or Universal Notre Dame Night as they inform us with what is going on back at campus.
We have an activity for everyone. (Let us know if you are interested in additional specialized groups such as a gathering of Moms who are ND grads.) Events will be held throughout the county in 2012. Come out and get involved. Meet your fellow alumni who also found their way out to San Diego. I hope you will take a moment to browse through the web site to read about some of our events held in recent years and then make plans to come out to an event in 2012.
Support the Club!
Although dues are not required to participate in most club activities, the volunteers serving on the Board of the Notre Dame Club of San Diego ask for your generosity to help support our mission to make a positive impact in our community and for our current students.
Use of Dues
Welcoming Current Students
Every year, the club hosts a freshman send-off picnic to welcome the newest members of the Notre Dame family and provide words of wisdom as they head off to their first year at the University.
Incidental expenses are incurred for representing the University of Notre Dame at local college fairs for prospective high school students.
Stipends are provided to Summer Service Project Students to help pay for their transportation needs. (Students from Notre Dame get their school credit paid by the sponsoring organization, such as the Boys & Girls Club of San Diego, local alumni graciously host these students in their homes for the duration of the Summer Service Project, and the club helps by taking providing a stipend that covers incidentals such as transportation and attending local club events.)
Student groups from Notre Dame visit the San Diego area to compete in college sporting events or provide musical performances. On occasion, the alumni club is asked to consider helping with incidentals or making a donation to support their visit.
Encouraging Alumni Participation
Each year the University encourages the local alumni clubs to host a professor and an administrator for the Hesburgh Lecture and Universal Notre Dame Night events. The University handles the costs for the visiting Notre Dame representative while the Club, and event attendees, pay for the venue and food.
Dues also go towards sponsoring events that support all local alumni. Many of these events are initiated by the national alumni organization. For example, in 2009, a new career development program was created for alumni called Onward Notre Dame. The University sent out a representative from Notre Dame to introduce the program and the San Diego Notre Dame Club offered it as part of a Career Event to help alumni advance in their careers.
The club also helps subsidize some incidentals to encourage alumni participation in events such as Mass and Cass for Young Alums to Prostate Awareness for Senior Alums.
Supporting Our Community
In addition to volunteer work provided by club members at soup kitchens and other charitable events, the club also delivers Thanksgiving dinners to needy families.
Benefits for Dues Paying Members
- More activities to help local alumni support one another, provide friendship, and share similar interests.
- Knowledge that you are helping current students feel welcomed into the Notre Dame family.
- Knowledge that Notre Dame is being seen as a positive influence in San Diego through its participation in community service.
- Opportunity to sign up for the allotment of football tickets received by the Notre Dame Club of San Diego for select games.
- First opportunity to sign up for the popular tours offered to the club. For example in 2009, 125 people signed up to take a tour of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, aka ‘The Gipper’, when only 50 spots were available.
- Opportunity to post your resume or seek career mentors on our web site’s Jobs Board
- Discounts to select club events when a fee is required.
How much are Dues?
Dues start at $30 for Basic membership and range all the way up to $600 for Blue & Gold membership. See our Dues Page to learn about the different ways you can financially support the Club’s activities and the benefits each level provides.
Donation Opportunities
In addition to dues, the membership form allows local alumni and supporters to contribute directly to specific programs or to the club in general. Specific Programs include:
Kathleen Roche Scholarship Fund – Scholarship money is provided to local students who demonstrate the need for financial aid, as determined by the University.
Summer Service Program – Funding is used to provide stipends to cover the cost of transportation and some incidentals for Notre Dame students providing service to the San Diego community. It could also be used to develop additional Summer Service Projects.
Nativity Prep – Founded in 2001 by Notre Dame Law Student Dave Rivera, this school provides college-preparatory instruction for low income students in San Diego’s inner city. One of the ways our club assists this program is by providing Thanksgiving meals to the students and their families.
Join Today!
Please join us in sharing the spirit of the Notre Dame family among fellow alumni, students, and supporters of the University and contributing that spirit to our San Diego community.
Best wishes for a GREAT 2012 for YOU and for the Notre Dame Family.
-Timothy Schenck ’95
Membership Coordinator
