Four Alumnae Serving as Jesuit Volunteers
Deborah Lohse
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 28, 2013—Four recent graduates of Santa Clara University have dedicated a year of their life to working in the Northwest U.S. as volunteers with Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest.
As volunteers with the Jesuit volunteer organization — one of two such groups in the U.S. — the graduates work with people who live on the margins of society, and have committed to living simply and working for social and ecological justice in a spiritually supportive community with other Jesuit volunteers.
Volunteers serve in critical social services advocating for domestic violence survivors; nursing in community clinics; teaching and tutoring in schools with Native American children; assisting in shelters; working for food justice issues; and many more important works.
The SCU alumnae volunteers, and where they will be working, are:
Claire Anderson, YWCA, Anchorage, AK
Caroline Read, Raphael House, Portland, Ore.
Jackie Ruiz, Wallace Medical Concern, Portland, Ore.
Chloe Wilson, Northwest Justice Project, Omak, Wash.
Since 2010, JVC Northwest has been part of AmeriCorps, funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service. SCU’s former students will receive additional benefits from that partnership, including a $5,550 education award at the completion of their service, and membership in the extensive AmeriCorp alumni network.
A total of 148 Jesuit Volunteer (JV) /AmeriCorps members – 24 returning for a second year, and two returning for a third year –joined JVC Northwest this year. They are serving in 21 locales throughout the five states of the Northwest, living in 24 JV communities. Throughout their year of service, JV/AmeriCorps members focus on four core values–social and ecological justice, simple living, spirituality, and community.
“JV/AmeriCorps members come to the year with the hope of making a difference in the lives of those they serve, and in the ecosystems in which they live,” said Jeanne Haster, executive director for JVC Northwest. “They will offer over 280,000 hours of service this year and touch the lives of thousands. JVs often don’t realize how significantly they themselves will be transformed throughout the process,” she added.
About JVC Northwest/AmeriCorps
JV/AmeriCorps members serve in a variety of urban and rural locations and are challenged to live simply and work for social and ecological justice in a spiritually supportive environment. Established in 1956, JVC Northwest is an independent, non-profit organization that recruits, places, and supports volunteers living in communities across the Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. For more information, visit www.jvcnorthwest.org.
Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121