WHAT WILL YOU DO AFTER GRADUATION?
The Jesuit ideal is to form "men and women for 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! Volunteers serve 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
Volunteers are placed in the United States and around the world. 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.
Catholic Charities Service Corps
The CCSC is a service program that offers participants an opportunity to integrate their Christian faith through commitments to social justice, community living, spiritual growth, and simple lifestyle.
Americorps
www.americorps.gov
Commit to national service by partnering with community-based organizations (both faith-based and secular), state and local agencies and other non-profit organizations that allow you to serve individually or on a team anywhere in the country through thousands of programs nationwide.
Peacecorps
www.peacecorps.org
For over 42 years, the Peace Corps has served 136 countries by responding to the country’s requests for help.
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.
ACE - Alliance for 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.
PACT: Providence Alliance for 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