Compañeros en Salud (Spring 2026)

Project Background

Compañeros en Salud (CES) was founded as the Mexican sister organization of Partners In Health (PIH) and delivers high-quality, accompaniment-based care in rural, resource-constrained communities in Chiapas. CES is a multidisciplinary organization that provides primary healthcare across all three levels of care, along with social support services grounded in a preferential option for those most in need. Its work emphasizes patient-centered care delivered with dignity and guided by a strong commitment to equity.

As global health funding becomes increasingly uncertain and U.S.-based support for international health initiatives faces growing political and financial constraints, PIH has indicated that CES must move toward greater institutional, financial, and governance independence from its historical relationship with the U.S.-based organization. This transition raises complex questions about how CES can sustain its model of care, protect quality and equity, and establish a more independent organizational identity within Mexico and abroad, especially in the United States.

This DAT project builds on prior collaboration between Notre Dame students and CES, including work to develop and translate inventories of CES healthcare delivery innovations for policy audiences. Whereas that earlier work emphasized applied outputs and partner-facing deliverables, the Spring 2026 project shifts toward deeper analytical inquiry and institutional evaluation intended to inform CES’s ongoing organizational transition.

Definition of Success

The Spring 2026 project offers a Notre Dame student team the opportunity to conduct a structured, policy-oriented analysis of CES’s transition toward greater organizational independence. The project will examine available legal frameworks, financing structures, and governance arrangements to establish a new legal and fiscal representation in the United States to support its work in Mexico. The project hopes to explore options for establishing support for international mechanisms, particularly in the US, that will best support long-term organizational survival and effectiveness.

Meet the Team

CES Bios S26 by kbross

Final Deliverables

The Vines (Spring 2026)

Partner Background

The Vines Foundation (TVF) is a catalyst for positive change in Tunuyán, a city in the western province of Mendoza, Argentina. Tunuyán is located in the Uco Valley, a largely rural region that is known for its wine and other agricultural products. We are a dedicated partner who supports sustainable initiatives that improve the overall health and vibrancy of the Tunuyán community. TVF is the philanthropic arm of The Vines, an Argentine farming, winemaking and hospitality company with deep connections to international resources through our clients in the US, Europe and Brazil. TVF leverages these resources to meet the immediate and long-term needs and aspirations of the local community through enhancing holistic community health, improving food security, and promoting sustainable livelihoods. Through our work, we engage community members, public, and private sector partners to solve complex challenges.

 

Definition of Opportunity

TVF seeks to partner with the University of Notre Dame to conduct market research and employer needs assessment across the hospitality, tourism, wine, and gastronomy sectors in and around Tunuyán.  The goal is to ensure that the vocational school:

• Prioritizes training tracks with the highest employment demand

• Aligns curriculum with specific, practical skills employers seek

• Builds early pathways for internships, instructors, and job placement

• Positions employers as long-term partners—not just future hirers

Student teams will engage directly with 15–20 regional employers, including: Hotels and boutique lodges, Restaurants, Wineries and tasting rooms, Tour operators and experience providers, and Event and wedding venues

Vision of Success

This project will be successful if, at its conclusion, The Vines Foundation has:

• Clear, employer-validated evidence of workforce demand in the Uco Valley

• Data-driven guidance to prioritize vocational certification tracks

• A shortlist of employers ready to partner through internships, teaching, or hiring

• Early momentum toward an employer pipeline that supports job placement from day one

• Confidence that the vocational school is being designed with employers, not just for students

Meet the Team

The Vines Bios S26 by kbross

Final Deliverable

Our Lady of Grace Senior High School (Spring 2026)

Partner Background

Our Lady of Grace Senior High School (OLAG) is a secondary school in Ghana guided by the values of Knowledge, Morality, and Service. Founded through a long-standing sister parish relationship between Our Lady of Grace Parish (Minnesota) and St. Joseph’s Parish in Mamponteng, Ghana, OLAG has grown into a thriving institution serving 850 students annually.

To date, OLAG has graduated 2,279 students, many of whom have pursued higher education in Ghana and abroad. 317 alumni have earned advanced degrees, and 9 graduates are currently studying in the United States (two at the University of Notre Dame). The school is funded and overseen by the Rise & Shine Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit committed to educational access and long-term institutional sustainability.

 

Definition of Opportunity

OLAG recently constructed a new guest house adjacent to the school campus in the rural town of Mamponteng, Ghana. The facility is intended to provide high-quality lodging for visitors—donors, board members, volunteers, educators, and faith-based groups—while also serving as a social impact enterprise that breaks even while providing social value to the school. Given the limited availability of quality accommodations in the surrounding region, the guest house presents an opportunity for OLAG to:

• Create a breakeven model for the use of the facility (and if it generates revenue, contribute it to the school)

• Attract new partners and collaborators

• Deepen engagement with visitors beyond short-term stays

• Look for new social and educational impact opportunities.

• Build on and expand its relationship with the University of Notre Dame

Meet the Team

Olag Bios s26 by kbross

Final Deliverable

Our Kids of South Bend (Spring 2026)

Partner Background

Our Kids of South Bend is a new nonprofit with a bold mission: to work from cradle to career so that every child in our community has the support they need to thrive. We begin in the Near Northwest Neighborhood (Census Tract 6), one of South Bend’s most challenged yet resilient communities.

Our Kids will serve as the backbone organization for child and family well-being—coordinating services, breaking down barriers to access, and ensuring no child falls through the cracks. We will connect families to existing partners, hold systems accountable for delivery, and, when necessary, directly provide high-impact services. Our approach is simple but ambitious: saturate support in one neighborhood until every child is on track for success, and then scale.

The need is urgent. Children in South Bend face:

• Adverse childhood experiences at rates higher than the national average.

• Chronic absenteeism  – 37% in South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) schools.

• Low academic achievement – 77.8% below reading proficiency; 81.2% below math proficiency.

• Rising youth violence, now the leading cause of death for young people nationwide.

Our aim is nothing less than to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and build a replicable model that proves what’s possible when an entire community commits to its children.

Our Kids draws inspiration from global and local innovators –  India’s ASPIRE, and the work of similar organizations in the U.S., such as the Harlem Children’s Zone.  Our pilot launches in 2026, proving the model in the Near Northwest Neighborhood before expanding citywide and perhaps beyond. Planning for the launch of Our Kids SBN is being led by Dr. Andrew Hoyt, Founding Head of School at the Portage School of Leaders, an innovative, competency-based charter high school in South Bend radically committed to students’ authentic engagement in deeper learning and positive adult relationships; Alec Torigian, National Coordinator for ACE's Pursuing Achievement Through Higher Education (PATH) initiative, whose mission is to provide radical accompaniment, opportunity, and formation on scholars' journeys from 6th grade through college graduation; and Jeffonia Jones, Family Engagement Specialist at the Portage School of Leaders, a certified life coach responsible for connecting students and families with the tools, resources, and support they’ll need to reach their fullest potential.

 

Definition of Opportunity

This project offers a team of Notre Dame students the opportunity to support Our Kids of South Bend at a pivotal moment in its launch.

• Students will help translate an ambitious, systems-oriented vision into clear, credible, and investment-ready projected plans and materials for funders, partners, board members, and other stakeholders.

• The project focuses on strengthening and clarifying the organization’s projected growth, financial, and staffing plans, and on preparing materials to translate these simply and appealingly for external supporters.

• Emphasis will be placed on assisting with translating the cradle-to-career backbone approach, emerging strategy, and organizations' growth projections into concrete, realistic plans, roles, costs, and timelines, drawing upon founders’ and board members’ guidance, benchmarking against other promise neighborhood models, and with input from social entrepreneurship tools and experts.

Meet the Team

Our Kids Bios S26 by kbross

Final Deliverable