Jesuit Volunteer Corps

The Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) is an organization of lay Catholic volunteers who dedicate one year or more to voluntary community service working with the disadvantaged--the homeless, abused women and children, immigrants and refugees, the mentally ill, people with HIV/AIDS and other illnesses, the elderly, children, and other marginalized groups. More recently, Jesuit Volunteers have worked for environmental education and preservation. Through retreats, local formation teams, and community living, volunteers are immersed in the "four values" of JVC: spirituality, community, simple living, and social justice.

JVC operations in the United states are divided into five regions: the Northwest, based in Portland; the Southwest, based in Santa Clara; the Midwest, based in Detroit; the East, based in Baltimore; the South, based in Houston. The international program is called Jesuit Volunteers International (JVI) and is based in Washington, DC. The program is affiliated with the Jesuit order and operates in the United States, Peru, Bolivia, Belize, Nicaragua, Micronesia, Tanzania, Nepal, and the Marshall Islands.

The first Jesuit Volunteer project began in 1956 in Alaska's Copper Valley at a boarding school for Native Alaskan children in a partnership between the Jesuits of the Oregon Province and the Sisters of Saint Ann. Since that time over 12,000 people have served as Jesuit Volunteers. There are 300 Jesuit Volunteers in any given year.

In 2007, the JVC regions East, South, Southwest, Midwest, and International announced that they would be merging to maximize their fundraising and recruitment operations. JVC Northwest chose not to participate in the merger, and it remains a separate entity. The merger has had a minimal effect on the programming of the individual regions, as each region maintains an office which coordinates volunteers in that region.

U.S. Senator Bob Casey, Jr. served as a Jesuit volunteer at the Gesu School in North Philadelphia after graduating from the College of the Holy Cross.

External links

* [http://www.jesuitvolunteers.org/ Official website]
* [http://www.jvcnorthwest.org/ Northwest Official website]