Projects
Back the Bend 2026 Projects:
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Northern Indiana Corridor
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Northern Indiana Corridor has been in the forefront of youth development in St. Joseph County for over 50 years, providing opportunities for young people through before school care, after school care, and summer programs. They believe every child deserves a safe place to learn and grow, where they can engage in life-enhancing experiences, with hope and opportunity for the future.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with outside and indoor spring clean-up. Tasks can include cleaning up leaves or trash outside, landscaping, or cleaning and organizing donation items in our new leadership center.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Christ Child Society
The Christ Child Society of South Bend is a nonprofit association of volunteers dedicated to supporting under-resourced families in our community by providing children's clothing, supporting education, and offering resources to affirm the human dignity of God's children in the love and spirit of the Christ Child.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with preparing clothing articles that will be distributed from August to December to Families in need. Additionally, volunteers will help with some cleaning, such as cleaning donated boots and shoes to prepare them for distribution.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes.
Cultivate Food Rescue
Cultivate Food Rescue works to reduce hunger and food waste in northern Indiana by recovering excess, quality food and redistributing it to school children, food pantries, shelters, and more. Through strategic partnerships, they are a leader in perishable food rescue, procurement, redistribution, and education in order to meet the nutritional needs of communities.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with prepping, packing, and bagging meals.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear closed-toe shoes, and no shorts or tank tops.
Dismas House of Indiana Inc.
Dismas House of Indiana is a community-based reentry program that provides housing, structure, and support for men and women transitioning from incarceration back to society. Residents commit to personal accountability while receiving mentorship, employment support, and connections to recovery and community resources. By building stability and opportunity, Dismas strengthens families and contributes to safer, healthier communities in South Bend.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with breaking down a patio in their backyard and cleaning up the neighborhood.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Fernwood Botanical Garden
Fernwood’s mission is to welcome and inspire all to explore, discover, and connect with nature and one another. A favorite of all who love nature—flora and fauna, Fernwood Botanical Garden is situated on the St. Joseph River in Niles, Michigan, near Buchanan in picturesque Berrien County. Fernwood is only minutes from South Bend, Indiana, and Southwestern Michigan’s famous wine country and shore communities. Fernwood comprises 105 acres and protects at least 10 ecosystems and is a birder’s paradise. Visitors may enjoy natural areas, including miles of walking and hiking trails, a reconstructed prairie, an arboretum, and cultivated public gardens, including an herb garden, a Japanese garden, a perennial border, a rain garden, a railway garden, a hardy fern collection, and other special collections and spaces.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with tasks such as pulling weeds, mulching, or planting. Volunteers may also help with habitat restoration and invasive species removal in the preserve.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes. If you have sensitive skin, wear long sleeves and pants to avoid any possibility of irritation, as this can sometimes occur when dealing with plants.
Field of Dreams- Unity Gardens
Unity Gardens works to connect our community to healthy food, nature, and one another. They are a free-pick garden open to any and all who need a healthy source of sustainable food and want to learn about sustainable agriculture. Through their Main Garden site and partnerships with other community resources, they were able to distribute over 500,000 pounds of food to those in need last year! They also offer various gardening classes, a Little Sprouts Program for the neighborhood kids, and safe green space for anyone in need. They also have rabbits and goats!
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with prepping the garden for the upcoming season. This will include seeding, wheelbarrowing, shoveling, mulching, possibly light construction work, and other similar tasks.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Forever Learning Institute
The mission of The Forever Learning Institute (FLI) is to improve the quality of senior adult life, through continuing intellectual challenge, spiritual reflection, and social interaction. Founded in 1974, FLI has provided award-winning educational programs to senior adults for 50 years and has grown to become northern Indiana's largest education non-profit for students aged 50+, with 2500 students enrolled in 300 classes annually. FLI's programs include semester-long classes, travel, and local events/field trips. FLI Instructors are all volunteers (many are also senior adults), providing 5,000 hours of service annually.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with tasks in Forever Learning classrooms, including cleaning closets, organizing supplies, and building shelves for storage.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes.
Fredrickson Park (City of South Bend Venues Parks & Arts)
Fredrickson Park is an EPA superfund site, which means it has a clay cap to protect the environment from underground impurities. This is also a great educational space due to our partnership with the Boy Scouts.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with the removal of invasive species (knotweed, honeysuckle), twigs, whips, and shrubs.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Good Shepherd Montessori School
Good Shepherd Montessori School is a diverse, cooperative learning community, governed by an independent Board of Directors, that uses the Montessori Method to nurture the character and uniqueness of the child and to inspire wonder and a joy of learning. It fosters spiritual growth in the Christian tradition and cultivates compassionate relationships with all people and just stewardship of the world’s resources.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with outside work such as garden work, fence repair, planting, and fruit tree pruning.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Green Bridge Growers
Green Bridge Growers is a sustainable farm just outside South Bend that grows fresh, healthy food for the community - while providing training and jobs for autistic youth and young adults who confront an unemployment rate of 90%.
Project Description:
We have a real variety of projects - all indoors! Working in our greenhouses and farmhouse to harvest food for the Food Bank, planting seedlings, tend annd prep our growing equipment, and creating signage and artwork for our farm.
Volunteer Notes: Volunteers should dress casually, wear sturdy shoes and dress in layers. We believe everyone has something to contribute and we offer a variety of projects with that in mind.
Habitat for Humanity Elkhart County
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 states and in more than 70 countries around the world. Habitat’s vision is of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat works toward this vision by building and improving homes in partnership with individuals and families in need of a decent and affordable place to live.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with cutting lumber and organizing cuts.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outside attire and clothes that you are okay getting dirty with closed-toed shoes. Please also be aware that this site will be using power tools.
Kelly Park (City of South Bend Venues Parks & Arts)
Kelly Park is a space that was reinvented with the assistance of neighbors, Robinson Community Learning Center, and Community Partners. This park is within walking distance of Notre Dame Campus and provides a variety of recreational opportunities.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with cleaning up the landscaping for Spring, mulching around trees, landscaping, and picking up debris around the entire space.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
La Casa de Amistad
La Casa de Amistad accompanies and celebrates Latino and immigrant communities through culturally grounded advocacy, educational, and social services.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with site clean-up and organizing.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Monroe Park Neighborhood Association
The Monroe Park Neighborhood extends between Michigan and Lincoln Way E, and Monroe and Bronson St.
Project Description:
Volunteers will use grabbers and garbage bags to clean the streets and clean off the caked-on dirt & grime from some of our newer sidewalks.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Mulch Madness
Mulch Madness is a community-academic partnership between Notre Dame and South Bend. The goal is to mitigate environmental lead exposure by providing mulching services to consenting homes free of charge while also providing information to residents about opportunities to gain financial support from the city government for lead-related repairs on the home.
Project Description:
Volunteers will transport mulch from neighborhood drop sites to consenting homes where they will spread it around the exterior circumference of the home.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
New Day Intake Center
New Day is a 115-bed homeless shelter, providing low barrier residential accommodations to individuals facing homelessness. New Day provides wraparound medical, psychiatric, and housing application support to assist guests on their path to stable housing.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help on-site staff with lunch service, storage organization, a site clean-up project, and/or other shelter operations tasks as needed.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Place to Be Me
Place to Be Me provides social and recreational activities to children and adults with developmental disabilities.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with yard clean-up, inside cleaning and organizing, and prepping crafts and activities.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes.
Robinson Community Learning Center
The Robinson Center is an outreach initiative of the University of Notre Dame. They serve underresourced families from South Bend, with preschools, after-school, adult English classes, Senior programs, and more! Their aim is to be a force for good in South Bend by reaching over 1800 participants annually.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with organizing and unpacking materials in our makerspace and sorting, organizing, and refilling kitchen supplies. If the weather permits, volunteers will also clean and organize the playground and toys.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Ronald McDonald House Michiana
RMHC Michiana provides a home-away-from-home at no cost for families with sick and injured children, ages 21 and younger.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with a mixture of: helping prepare lunch for our families, preparing freezer meals, baking sweet treats for our families, cleaning around the House, organizing and helping stock our pantry shelves, and organizing and cleaning our supply closets.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes.
Salvation Army Kroc Center
The Salvation Army Kroc Center, located near downtown South Bend, IN, is dedicated to serving the community's most vulnerable populations. Their initiatives help underserved communities gain access to quality opportunities and community programs. They play a significant role in improving the quality of life in St. Joseph County's underserved populations. The Salvation Army Kroc Center is designed to be a safe and welcoming space where individuals from diverse backgrounds can gather, learn, and grow. Their goal is to enrich the lives of everyone in the community and to meet human needs without discrimination.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with a variety of tasks including assisting with their sports league, prepararing for that days Easter Egg Splash, performing outside work, and inside cleaning.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Shirley Heinze Land Trust
Shirley Heinze Land Trust is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of significant natural areas throughout northwestern Indiana. Approximately 4,000 acres are permanently protected, and most of their nature preserves are open to the public to explore and enjoy.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with the installation of guardrails around a new parking lot and trailhead for our Lydick Bog property west of South Bend.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes. Please also be aware that this site will be using tools.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace
Transformation Ministries
Transformation Ministries seeks to transform the hearts and minds of youth and their families, and connect others to the city in a positive way. They believe that heavily investing in a small number of students at a very deep level will produce greater long-term benefits. Through their programs, they provide a safe community of belonging, one-to-one mentoring, tutoring, in-school advocacy, post-secondary education planning, mental health resources, parent support, conflict mediation, physical wellness opportunities, spiritual development, life skills training, and interpersonal development. Their desire is for each student in their programs to receive the support they need so that no student falls through the cracks and that each student is given the tools, assistance, and resources to flourish.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with community beautification and neighborhood clean-up. Transformation Ministries wants to help their neighbors by cleaning up their yards and giving gifts. Volunteers will also help with preparations to move a storage room in anticipation of a large renovation and new build project.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Unity Gardens
Unity Gardens works to connect our community to healthy food, nature, and one another. They are a free-pick garden open to any and all who need a healthy source of sustainable food and want to learn about sustainable agriculture. Through their Main Garden site and partnerships with other community resources, they were able to distribute over 500,000 pounds of food to those in need last year! They also offer various gardening classes, a Little Sprouts Program for the neighborhood kids, and safe green space for anyone in need. They also have rabbits and goats!
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with prepping the garden for the upcoming season. This will include seeding, wheelbarrowing, shoveling, mulching, possibly light construction work, and other similar tasks.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
Wellfield Botanic Gardens
Wellfield Botanic Gardens is a nonprofit public garden dedicated to connecting people with nature through beautiful garden displays, environmental education, and conservation efforts. Wellfield maintains themed gardens and natural areas, offers programs and events for all ages, and works to promote native plants, pollinator habitats, and sustainable gardening practices in the community.
Project Description:
Volunteers will help with tasks based on current priorities. Projects can include weeding garden beds, spreading mulch, light pruning, cleaning garden signs and teak benches, planting, and general garden maintenance. All work is outdoors, and staff will provide guidance, tools, and instructions.
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.
YWCA North Central Indiana
YWCA seeks to empower all women, meeting our clients where they are most vulnerable and providing the compassion and services that place them on a path to self-sufficiency and prosperity. Their vision is that all women and their families can achieve their full potential. This requires a focus on the future, anticipating the needs of their clients, and creating innovative solutions to the problems they most often face – violence, poverty, unsafe living conditions, lack of reliable and affordable childcare, and under- or unemployment.
Project Description:
Volunteers will sort through donations, organize, and do light cleaning. Volunteers will also help clean up the outside of our building (landscaping).
Volunteer Notes: Please wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty, along with closed-toed shoes.