Today, our sisters teach in mainstream schools at the elementary, middle school, high school and collegiate level. They are skilled educators who also provide a sense of Catholic values to their students to help them develop their character as well as their intellect.
In the Milwaukee Province approximately 39% of our active sisters are involved in education. We teach in a number of schools throughout our province including our sponsored schools - Notre Dame Middle School and Mount Mary College.

Our sisters also serve those in need in remote locations in the United States and in foreign countries. An example of this is the work done by S. Jan Gregorcich who was integral in establishing Global Partners Running Waters. This organization works in Central America and has brought life sustaining fresh water to remote villages through the digging of wells, helped poor families obtain goats and other needed livestock for sustenance, and established partnerships with others to ensure that those in need can better care for themselves.

Our sisters also minister as prison chaplains and social workers. They work directly with those who need help lifting themselves out of personal, family, social, and economic situations that are proving harmful to themselves and/or their families. They stand by those in need and demonstrate Christian values by their actions.

They also minister in neighborhood parishes as pastoral ministers who provide guidance and needed helping hands to their congregations. This may include counseling seniors, as well as youth, and helping to foster and organize parish events.

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Prayer Ministry:
Prayer is a powerful force and its effects can be both dramatic and subtle. In either case, it works as a vehicle for change and as a pathway to introspection and growth.

As you would expect, prayer is part of the daily life of each SSND. Whether they do so individually or in small and large prayer groups, SSNDs pray for special intentions of individuals, as well as the general healing of our world. The impact of this prayer cannot be measured, but its power is undoubtable.

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Sponsorships:
In our Milwaukee province, the School Sisters of Notre Dame sponor three institutions/programs. Our sponsorship allowed for the creation and growth of these organizations with the spirit and charism of the SSNDs embedded in their governing structures and daily operations.

We sponsor large institutions like Mount Mary College where young women receive education on a par with the best universities, and smaller programs like TYME OUT Youth Center where young people come together in retreat programs to deepen their commitments, convictions, and values. We also sponsor Notre Dame Middle School which fulfills the need to help educate Hispanic middle school girls in an environment that will help them succeed in their current studies and when they move on to high school and college.

The School Sisters of Notre Dame not only help support these organizations financially, but also by working within them as teachers, consultants, mentors, and board members. They ensure that the spirit of SSND Founder Mother Theresa of Jeseus Gerhardinger, who founded SSND, continues in these places.

Social Justice:
There are many domestic and international issues that require our attention and should be brought to the consciousness of the public in general. These issues may include workers' rights, the closing of the paramilitary School of the Americas, putting an end to the international trafficking of women and children, and calling attention to the social and economic needs of the poor. Our SHALOM representative works diligently on these issues and also provides information about them to others.

While doing so in a civil and Christian manner, our sisters' voices have been heard from front-line rallies to the halls of the United Nations. They stand firm and give a voice to the voiceless and disenfranchised in the hope of building a better and just world for all.

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