WHAT WILL YOU DO AFTER GRADUATION?
The Jesuit ideal is to form "men and women for and with others." One way to live this ideal is the "volunteer service year." Graduates spend a year doing service for and with those in need - especially with people who are economically poor or marginalized. Volunteers commit to compassionate service, a simple lifestyle in community, spiritual growth and commitment to social justice. Volunteers are provided room and board, health insurance, a small stipend, and usually student loan deferrals.
Where can you serve?
Anywhere! Canisius graduates have served one-year domestically in anywhere from Jersey City to Alaska, from Omaha to a Native American Reservation, from Buffalo to downtown L.A. Volunteers can also commit to serve for two-years internationally, in countries like Tanzania, Bolivia, Southeast Asia or Nepal. The possibilities are endless!
What kind of program can you serve with?
There are usually two kinds of programs graduates join up with: faith-based and secular. Faith-based programs like the Jesuit Volunteer Corps are based on the cornerstone values of social justice, spirituality, community and simple lifestyle. Volunteers live in community, eat together, pray once a week together, go on retreats and have support people within their community. Secular programs like AmeriCorps or PeaceCorps are based on the humanitarian ideals of making the world a better place. These programs are more individualistic and volunteers more often than not find their own places to live.
What kinds of areas do volunteers work in?
The following is a sample listing of service opportunities:
| Addiction Recovery | Elder Care | Legal Services |
| Adolescent Services | Emergency Shelters | Men's Programs |
| AIDS Ministry | Employment Services | Mental Health |
| Community Organizing | Food and Hunger | Prison Ministry |
| Domestic Abuse | Health Care | Refugee/Immigrant Aid |
| Education | Housing Advocacy | Women's Programs |
Below are a few of the more popular volunteer programs out there. Just click on the icon to visit their websites and learn more! Or, for more information and a chance to chat one-on-one, stop by Campus Ministry at OM 207 or contact Lu Firestone at x2422 or firestol@canisius.edu. For an on-line directory of volunteer programs, visit the Catholic Network of Volunteer Service website.
Jesuit Volunteer Corps
www.JesuitVolunteers.org (JVC and Jesuit Volunteers International)
www.jvcnorthwest.org(JVC northwest)
Our #1 choice! Continue in the Jesuit spirit of serving the poor and marginalized all over the country and internationally while living in community with other volunteers and committing to the four cornerstone values of social justice, simplicity, spirituality and community. JVC has hundreds of placements. (International volunteers serve two years!) Since 1956 more than 7,000 members of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps have committed themselves to working with the poor. They have put off graduate school and turned down job offers in order to offer alternatives to people who have few options.
Mercy Volunteer Corps
www.mercyvolunteers.org
In partnership with the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, male and female volunteers enter into a relationship with people who are economically poor or marginalized. Volunteers commit to the values of service, social justice, spirituality, and a simple lifestyle in community.MVC has about 25 placements, a few of which are international English-speaking sites! (International volunteers serve two years!)
AmeriCorps and PeaceCorps
www.americorps.gov or www.peacecorps.org
While not faith-based, both of these programs are excellent. In AmeriCorps, you will commit to doing secular, national service by partnering with community-based organzieations, state and local agencies and other non-profit organizations that allow you to serve anywhere in the country. AmeriCorps has over 100,000 placements, so you are bound to find something right for you! If you want to serve internationally, join Peace Corps to partner as a person of goodwill with others across the world. The applications takes about a year to complete, so start yours today! (International volunteers serve two years!)
Cristo Rey Network
www.cristoreynetwork.org/
Teach at one of the Jesuit Cristo Rey high schools, which provide quality, Catholic, college preparatory education to urban young people who live in communities with limited educational options.
The Inner-City Teaching Corps
www.ictc-chicago.org/
The Inner-City Teaching Corps recruits, supports, and develops dedicated, inspired education leaders to serve in inner-city classrooms and school settings. Members earn a teaching certificate and more than half the required credits for a Master’s Degree.
Jesuit Nativity Middle Schools
www.nynativity.org
Teach half-loads while working with a more experienced teacher in the classroom in Jesuit middle schools in the heard of NYC and receive a discounted tuition at Fordham. Nativity Schools are 100% scholarship-driven and serve students from immigrant families of very low income. Canisius has an excellent relationship with these schools!
Good Shepherd Volunteers
www.gsvolunteers.org
Collaborate with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd to use your talents serving those affected by poverty, violence, and neglect. Do anything from working with a Fair Trade organization in NYC to working wtih the indigenous people who produce these crafts in Peru! This is a small but wonderful progrm.
Catholic Charities Service Corps
www.ccservicecorps.org
The CCSC is a year-long service program right here in Buffalo that offers participants an opportunity to integrate their Christian faith through commitments to social justice, community living, spiritual growth and a simple lifestyle. Stay local and serve!
Dominican Volunteers USA
http://dvusa.org
Share a simple lifestyle in faith-based, intergenerational Dominican communities while responding to the needs of the poor and marginalized in the USA.
FrancisCorps
www.franciscorps.org
Commit to living a simple lifestyle in community with other volunteers in the spirit of Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi while serving the poor. Their motto: "Preach the Gospel! If necessary, use words!"
ACE - Alliancefor Catholic Education
https://ace.nd.edu/ace/
The University of Notre Dame’s ACE program is a two-year service program offering college graduates the opportunity to serve as full-time teachers in under-resourced Catholic schools across the southern United States. Based on the pillars of teaching, community and spirituality, ACE teachers spend two summers studying in the Masters of Education program at Notre Dame and two school years teaching in under-resourced Catholic schools. Upon completion of this program, you’ll receive a cost-free Masters of Education from Notre Dame and possibly an Americorps education award.
Teach for America
www.teachforamerica.org
Serve 2-years as a FULL-TIME, PAID teacher in urban and rural public schools throughout the country receiving health benefits, the $4, 725 AmeriCorps Award, professional development, etc.! Teach for America is a secular program that looks for highly motivated graduating seniors who want to teach their passioni n underserved schools--no education major required!
PACT: Providence Alliancefor Catholic Teachers
www.providence.edu/pact
Pact is a service teaching program in which recent college graduates teach for two years in Catholic Schools in the New England region and earn a tuition-free Masters of Education degree at Providence College. PACT revolves around the cornerstones of service, community, study and spirituality.
Other Programs
Amate House: www.amatehouse.org
Boys Hope Girls Hope: www.boyshopegirlshope.org
CapCorps Lay Volunteer: www.capuchin.com/volunteers
Christian Appalachian Project: www.chrisapp.org
Francis Corps: www.franciscorps.org
Holy Cross Associates: http://holycrossassociates.nd.edu
Nazareth Farm: www.nazarethfarm.org
Red Cloud Indian School: www.redcloudschool.org