Jesuit Volunteer Corps

Established in 1956, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) is associated with the Roman Catholic Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and is an organization that aims to [Page 232]provide women and men an opportunity to spend 1 or 2 years of their lives working full-time for justice and peace. Jesuit volunteers see their mission as one of service to the poor. In keeping with this mission, they seek to become aware of the social structures that contribute to the oppression of low-income and marginalized persons. Since it was established in 1956, more than 7,000 members of the JVC have committed themselves to this endeavor, and there are currently 500 JVC volunteers in the United States and over 70 volunteers in other parts of the world.

In order to achieve this goal, the JVC has a wide variety of ministry opportunities both in the United States and internationally. Ministries vary from addiction recovery to education, legal services to prison ministry, and HIV/AIDS services to domestic abuse programs. At the core of each of these ministries is a concern for social justice, a need that involves numerous ministries across the United States and extends internationally to East Africa, Belize, Tanzania, the Pacific Islands of Micronesia, and Peru.

There are four main values promoted by the JVC. The first of these is the emphasis placed on community. All Jesuit volunteers are required to live in a community with other volunteers. Christian faith reminds the volunteers that God's will is to be found in the loving and respectful relationships among people; accordingly, these communities are joined by a shared vision and a common desire for justice. This idea of community extends beyond the volunteers' immediate living conditions and includes the people they serve: neighbors, co-workers, other volunteers, and members of local parishes who are encouraged to form relationships that challenge and support one another.

The JVC values a simple lifestyle. In light of this, each volunteer receives a small stipend each month, and the homes that each community occupies tend to be in low-income neighborhoods. The goal of such simple living is twofold. On the one hand, it encourages each volunteer to become conscious of the experience of the poor and marginalized, particularly the poor that they serve on a day-to-day basis in their ministries. On the other hand, it shifts the volunteers' focus away from financial concerns and encourages them to find value in activities that do not require large amounts of money.

The third value places an emphasis on social justice. The intent of each volunteer working among the poor is to encourage them to participate in the daily struggle for dignity, justice, and human rights. By living among and becoming friends with them, the volunteers forge relationships with those who are most easily forgotten by our society—relationships that challenge the volunteers to see the causes of poverty and oppression, and to understand the nature of the injustice that leads to their marginalization. Each volunteer's ministry placement places him or her in direct contact with the poor, and each ministry provides essential care that aims at empowering the poor to free themselves from the forces that oppress them.

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