Changing lives, one relationship at a time: Notre Dame Robinson Community Learning Center celebrates 25 years

An Asian woman in a hoodie and high-top sneakers sits cross-legged in a preschool classroom on a colorful rug. She is smiling as she watches two children, a boy and a girl, play with a wooden train set. The boy, in a yellow, zip-up top and matching pants, is Asian; the girl, in matching pink top and pants, is Hispanic. The girl has a giant pink bow in her hair. — Notre Dame senior Lydia Liang works with a pair of preschoolers at the Robinson Community Learning Center in South Bend. (Photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame)

As it turns 25 (), the stands as a lasting symbol of trust and shared purpose between Notre Dame and its closest neighbors鈥攖he many and diverse residents of the Northeast Neighborhood鈥攁s well as a source of support and encouragement for those who have passed through its doors.

Starting from its original location in a former shopping center and continuing at Eddy Street Commons, the center, with support from Notre Dame and others, has served thousands of men, women, and children across generations, engaged hundreds of volunteers, and distributed tens of thousands of books, promoting service and learning throughout the community.

But the center is also a physical space, and in that capacity, it has served as a hub for events, celebrations, lectures, performances, competitions, and student- and community-organized service projects such as Back the Bend and Turning Over a New Leaf鈥攁lways with a deep and abiding commitment to the underserved, particularly children, families, and the elderly.

鈥淲e have a mission and a passion to serve the breadth of the community; we make efforts to reach the under-resourced and the vulnerable,鈥� said Susan Devetski, an educational consultant and former chief academic officer for the South Bend Community 91视频 Corp. who has served as director of the RCLC since 2023.

In that sense, the center鈥檚 impact is practically immeasurable.