Service & Justice

CCAP is a school organization, like the Student Council and the Athletic Association, dedicated to serving the community. The group sponsors the Red Cross Blood Drive; the Penny Queen fundraiser; the Head Start Christmas Party; the CCAP dance in the fall for grade 9 & 10 students; and Pasta for the Philippines. There is one representative from each homeroom, as well as At-Large grade representatives. Meetings are held about once a month. 

Rafiki 

Rafiki is an after-school program which brings young women with developmental disabilities from the community and our NDP students together for a social club. The group meets weekly to enjoy, crafts, games, sports and various activities that foster relationships. Rafiki is a Swahili word meaning “friend” and that is just what is developed with this club. 

The mission of Club Umoja is to foster ongoing relationships with children from Camp Umoja through programs with Baltimore public housing developments. We strive to instill a love of learning and promote personal growth in the children. In addition, Club Umoja exists to educate the NDP community as it increases our awareness of urban issues affecting Baltimore’s youth. In the process of achieving these goals, we hope to make the experience enjoyable for all involved. 

Started in 2004, Club Umoja organizes outreach programs for Camp Umoja children both here and in the community. We host an annual “Urban Forum” to discuss issues that affect Baltimore City’s children. 

Our Habitat for Humanity Club works Habitat's Susquehanna Chapter with to raise awareness about affordable housing in our local area. 

Camp Umoja is a summer day camp for children from Baltimore City Public Housing. Since its beginning in 1985, children between the ages of 6 and 11 have attended. Located at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson, Maryland, the camp offers daily Red Cross certified swimming lessons, arts and crafts, and a tutoring program. Volunteer counselors from Notre Dame Prep and local boy's schools provide the campers with close supervision in a caring atmosphere. Our key to success is the one-on-one attention that our counselors give to the children. Umoja, which means “unity” in Swahili, has special meaning for the camp. At Camp Umoja, high school students and young children together. In that setting, the counselors come to recognize the value of direct service. The young campers gain many important skills through tutoring, arts and crafts, and swimming. They also grow from the recognition that their counselors care deeply about them. Seeking to continue their relationships with their campers throughout the year, NDP students formed Club Umoja. 

Started in 2005, the Sisters Academy Summer Camp, is a day camp offering sports and fitness opportunities for the students of Sisters Academy of Baltimore, a Catholic, community-centered middle school, that educates girls from families of limited economic means, in southwest Baltimore. Notre Dame Prep students volunteer as counselors at the camp, offering support, encouragement, and friendship with these middle-schoolers and maintain their relationship with the students throughout the following school year. 

MISSISSIPPI 

Since the early 1990’s NDP has sent a group of seniors on a week long-trip to serve lower-income families in the Deep South around Easter. We work in Starkville, Mississippi with their local Habitat for Humanity chapter, assisting families in their dreams of owning a good home. We sleep at the local Boy Scout camp and dinners and lunches are provided by local churches that host us in the evenings. We also participate in local activities such as going out to the Mississippi State baseball game. NDP is the only high school to participate in this program, known as the Collegiate Challenge. 

VIRGINIA 

Started in 2004, the Virginia Habitat for Humanity Trip with Calvert Hall provides students from NDP and CHC the opportunity to get to know one another while providing a meaningful service to a family on the rural eastern shore of Virginia. Students often work together to make their meal though some are generously donated by local church groups. In the evenings there will be time for recreation and reflection on the day’s experiences, and we take a recreational day at Virginia Beach mid-week. 

ECUADOR 

Beginning in 2018, NDP established a partnership with Rostro de Cristo in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Throughout this retreat-style immersion trip, emphasis is placed on being with members of the local community rather than doing for them, building relationships and developing a greater understanding of the reality of Ecuadorians, through visits and dialogue. Throughout this experience, NDP students are able to touch, taste, smell, see, and feel how the developing world lives, and be forever changed. 

ARIZONA 

Begun in 2018, the Arizona Delegation of Notre Dame Preparatory School travels during Holy Week to visit the School Sisters of Notre Dame who live in Douglas, Arizona and run the Mission Awareness Project (MAP). The Delegation accompanies the SSND during this weeklong “ministry of presence.” In other words, the week is an examination of the immigration issue through a variety of site visits around Douglas, interviews with non-profit employees, and facilitated conversations in a retreat-like atmosphere. This unique experience is designed to bring immigration to life, reinforce solidarity with our neighbors, and challenge participants to be a part of a solution. The Delegation flies through Tucson in order to reach Douglas, spend time near Nogales, and cross the border a number of times throughout the week.