One of Notre Dame’s core values is service. One club at NDA especially lives out this value: ASTRA Club.

“ASTRA is about going out into the community and helping,” senior Mary Jones said.

ASTRA Club is a student club advised by Heather Weininger from Altrusa International and led  by Jones, the club president.  ASTRA Club members participate in various service activities in the community.

Several of ASTRA Club’s past service projects include volunteering at the Special Olympics during basketball tournaments, helping adults learn English at Literacy Green Bay and collecting coats for the Coats for Kids Program during a Packer game.  Jones says besides making a service project productive she always tries to make it fun.

“Service is about helping others and personally having fun. I feel productive when I work on the service projects and I feel as if I have done something meaningful after I complete them,” Jones said.

As ASTRA’s president, Jones is kept busy finding service opportunities.  “I am in charge of contacting different service organizations within the Green Bay area and asking them if they have any upcoming events or projects in which students can work on. Programs that have readily been eager for student help are the Special Olympics, Literacy Green Bay, the Salvation Army, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Pal's program,” Jones stated.

She also spends time sending out information and finding students to take part in the service projects.

“The biggest challenge is not contacting agencies because there are so many who instantly would love to have students. The real challenge is trying to encourage students to participate in projects and commit to them,” Jones said.

As president and member of ASTRA Club, Jones hopes to have plenty of student involvement in the club’s future and “to bring in representatives from certain organizations to come in and educate students about the significance of their organizations in order to motivate students to help.”

Jones urges any students interested in community service to attend any ASTRA meetings.  “We meet the second Wednesday of each month. The meetings are before school, and I try to make them as efficient as possible,” she said.

Jones encourages anyone wanting to make a difference through service to do so through ASTRA Club.