The Aidan Project, a cancer awareness initiative coordinated by University of Notre Dame student leaders, recently was named the 2009 Service Project of the Year by the Association of College Unions International (ACUI).
Led by Notre Dame’s Circle K club with the support of Knott Hall and the Senior Class Council, The Aidan Project began in 2006 as a way for Notre Dame students to raise awareness about cancer while also supporting Aidan Fitzgerald, a classmate living in Knott Hall who discovered he had cancer. Students make fleece blankets and write personal notes of encouragement for children undergoing cancer treatment. This past year, children from Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, as well as South Bend’s Memorial Hospital and St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, received the blankets.
Circle K is a college-based service group affiliated with the Kiwanis international organization. In addition to The Aidan Project, the club coordinates a variety of weekly service projects in the South Bend community, including tutoring students, visiting nursing homes, working with animals and volunteering at local hospitals.
Founded in 1914, ACUI is a nonprofit educational organization that brings together college union and student activities professionals from more than 500 colleges and universities in seven countries.