NDSA Helps Senior Alumni Give Back
By Jennifer Warfel Juszkiewicz ’09 M.A., NDAA Staff Writer

Rev. Louis Putz, C.S.C, ’32, ’88 Hon., arrived on the campus of Notre Dame via Ellis Island from Bavaria in 1923. The German-speaking young seminarian was directed to the University thanks to the large sign reading “Deliver me to South Bend, Indiana” pinned on his chest. After graduation from Notre Dame, he went on to be a noted pastoral theologian, professor, publisher, community organizer, and priest. He is particularly remembered for the love he had for his vocation and his alma mater. 

However, when Father Putz returned to Notre Dame in the 1980s and reconnected with the Alumni Association, he realized something was missing: there was no programming for the older alumni, a demographic of which he was now a part, and which comprises 35 percent of the overall alumni population. 

In response, the Alumni Association and a group of senior alumni—including Father Putz— founded the Notre Dame Senior Alumni group (NDSA). NDSA serves the needs of senior alumni and friends aged 55 and older, with particular emphasis on community service activities, putting their experience and knowledge to use and reviving their connection to Notre Dame.

As recently elected NDSA chairman, Jim Gibbons ’55, explains, “Many Notre Dame alumni in this group are at a point in their careers and stage in life where they want to give back to their community, church, the less fortunate, and those in need,” he says. “This is their way of expressing thanksgiving and appreciation for all the blessings they have experienced in their own lifetime.”

One way to do this is to pair alumni who want to continue using their professional skills with local not-for-profit organizations in need of skilled aid, but that cannot afford to pay for contracted services. NDSA developed the Catholic Community Professional Assistance Program (CCPAP) to fulfill both needs.

Buzz Berger ’52, a civil engineer, and Tom Loosbrock ’52, an architect, participated in a CCPAP project for the Hilton Head Library Board of Directors. Berger and Loosbrock created an expansions program and prepared a conceptual study for a major addition to the library, thereby saving the library time and money during the project’s early exploratory phase.

CCPAP is just one of the many programs NDSA helps organize. The God, Country, Notre Dame Program provides volunteer opportunities for NDSA members at local military and VA hospitals. Volunteers from NDSA perform clerical tasks, patient transportation, and professional services such as accounting, or simply visit the patients.

Similarly, NDSA helps facilitate the Hospital Support Program, which connects ND alumni who are in hospitals away from home with local alumni. The volunteers offer non-medical, non-financial assistance, such as visiting the patient, arranging a visit from a priest, and advising the family about where to stay or shop.

Another initiative of the NDSA is the Prostate Awareness and Cancer Education Program (PACE). This program is coordinated with the national organization, Bat for the Cure, which promotes awareness about prostate cancer and early detection methods via minor league baseball stadiums. NDSA and Bat for the Cure joined teams in early 2008. That same year, the NDSA was able to provide volunteers at 25 Bat for the Cure nights around the country. This season, the NDSA will provide volunteers at 50 baseball games with the help of 40 Notre Dame clubs. Additionally, the NDSA supports the ND Awareness of Breast Cancer Program.

Through its service and social initiatives, the NDSA reconnects senior alumni to each other and to their University. The group hosts senior-specific events, such as the Senior Game every football season. This year, the home game versus Nevada on Sept. 5, will feature the special senior alumni tailgate party and other activities for alumni and their spouses.

Learn more about the NDSA and its initiatives by visiting the official NDSA website at ndsenioralumni.org/.