Notre Dame College is inspiring members of its campus community to commit to 40 acts of kindness for the 40 days of Lent.
The College is participating in a global movement called 40acts throughout the Christian season of Lent, observed this year from Ash Wednesday, February 26, through Easter Sunday, April 12. 40acts is a generosity challenge designed for the Lenten season of preparation through prayer, penance and service that has been created by the United Kingdom Christian charity, Stewardship.
In keeping with the spirit of Lent, Notre Dame students, faculty and staff are encouraged to engage in 40 simple deeds on campus and in the larger civic community. The simplicity of the daily effort to extend thoughtfulness, consideration and charity is a way of respecting and valuing the other, according to Sr. Carol Ziegler, SND, Ph.D., chief mission officer and executive director of the Abrahamic Center at the College.
“The effort seeks to reignite awareness of our sense of community ‘from ME 2 WE,’ which has been a driving force this year on campus,” Ziegler said.
The Lenten effort seeks to enliven the mission of the College, too, which focuses on global awareness as well as personal and professional responsibility. Some of the recommended activities recognize people in need throughout the world and promote conservation of natural resources.
The suggested acts of kindness posted throughout campus over the six weeks of the season include several items specific to Notre Dame. Community members are urged to go beyond the daily suggestions and create random goodness in multiple areas of their lives.
Suggestions for those on campus include learning the names of three new students, faculty, or staff; bringing in a donation for the College food pantry; and treating someone to a beverage in the College’s Falcon Café. Members of the campus community also are encouraged to be aware of shared space and be attentive to leaving areas as nice or more tidy than they found them, whether their residence hall, a classroom or a table in the Falcon Café.
Recommended initiatives with a global influence range from leaving some change in a Falcon Café container for the Sisters of Notre Dame Mission Schools in Uganda, Kenya, or India to being mindful of saving water to reducing energy by turning off the lights that are not needed and avoiding the use of unnecessary plastic consumption.
Faculty, staff and students also can volunteer with a campus ministry service project in the city of Cleveland. Opportunities feature tutoring children, spending time with elderly and visiting the homeless.
The Notre Dame College community’s attention to random acts of kindness for an intensive 40 days is an effort to live the Gospel with joy and honor our interdependence, Ziegler said.
The complete list of 40 deeds in a daily format is available on the College website at NotreDameCollege.edu. Additional information about the 40acts movement is available online at 40acts.org.uk.
February 2020
About Notre Dame College
For almost a century, Notre Dame College has educated a diverse population in the liberal arts for personal, professional and global responsibility. Founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1922, the College has grown strategically to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of students and the dramatic changes in higher education. But it has never lost sight of its emphasis on teaching students not only how to make a good living but also how to live a good life.
Today, the College offers bachelor’s degrees in 30 disciplines plus a variety of master’s degrees, certification programs and continuing and professional development programs for adult learners on campus and online. Notre Dame College offers NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletic programs for men and women and is located in a picturesque residential neighborhood just 25 minutes from the heart of Cleveland. Hallmarks of the Notre Dame experience include stimulating academics, personalized attention of dedicated faculty and staff, and small class sizes.
Notre Dame College is located at 4545 College Road in South Euclid. For further information contact Brian Johnston, chief communications officer, at 216.373.5252 or bjohnston@ndc.edu.