Jesuit Volunteer Corps
Jesuit Volunteers gather after Commissioning Mass at Orientation. (2018)
Jesuit Volunteers gather after Commissioning Mass at Orientation. (2018)

OUR IMPACT

We are an organization with an ambitious vision and mission. We place young leaders in solidarity and service, providing crucial capacity to agencies on the front lines of justice. Our formation program transforms those leaders into effective and thoughtful advocates for social change. And our alumni use the lessons they’ve learned to build a more just, inclusive, and equitable world that honors the dignity and diversity of all.

 

 

We don’t just place volunteers. We build and foster a movement, a congregation, and a way of engaging with the world that feels increasingly rare. Ask any of our 11,000 alumni or the communities they’ve served: our impact is broad and lasting.

Jesuit Volunteer volunteering internationally tutoring students in Belize. (2016)

150

Volunteers

19

Communities

100,000+

People served

20

Apostolates

130

Agencies

$26,000

Average savings

95%

Agency retention

90%

Volunteer retention

Our Alumni Encapsulate their Experience in a Phrase

At events or in our travels, we managed to meet FJVs with service years ranging from 1963-2019! Recently, we've been asking FJVs that we've seen to share a word or phrase that encapsulated their JV experience. Here's a snapshot of what they had to say. Enjoy the video and see if you can spot an FJV from the year(s) you served! (Music by LiQWYD)

VOLUNTEERS

Jesuit Volunteers perform vital service among marginalized communities, while engaging deeply with the core values of spirituality, community, simple living, and social justice. Our volunteers bring a dedication to the cause of justice and the courage to transform themselves and the communities they serve. We help them discover how to put this passion to work for life.

  • Jesuit Volunteer Camila Biaggi (2017-2019) and Faith during their Mes de Mision in the Mountains of Peru while serving with Instituto Educacional Miguel Pro.

    volunteer stories, international service, education, housing insecurity

    "In some ways, Mes de Misión is a concentrated version of what it means to serve as a volunteer in a program with a focus on faith in action."

    Camila Biaggi

    (Tacna, Peru 2017-19)

    LEARN MORE ABOUT CAMILA'S JV EXPERIENCE

AGENCIES

Organizations working at the front lines of social justice need volunteers as courageous and committed as they are. The Jesuit Volunteer Corps provides resource-constrained agencies with skilled and enthusiastic young leaders to support them as they take on the world’s toughest challenges.

  • Former Jesuit Volunteer Gabe McCarthy (2017-18) helps Erik Cheeks find a suit for an upcoming job interview.

    agency feature, volunteer stories, employment, domestic service, housing insecurity

    "JVs are an immense help. It takes energy and drive, intellectual giftedness, positivity, and the ability to believe fervently in a cause, to be an effective part of the Project Return effort."

    Nashville, TN

    LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR AGENCY PARTNERS

More on our ALUMNI

Jesuit Volunteers join a community of over 10,000 alumni committed to faith in action. Former Jesuit Volunteers do amazing things: they serve the public interest as members of Congress, found and lead organizations at the forefront of social change, heal bodies and minds as medical professionals, advocate for justice as lawyers and judges, and continue to work with the poor and marginalized.

 

Notable alumni include:

British Robinson
CEO at Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy

Monica Márquez
Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court 

Jody Kent Lavy
Director and National Coordinator at The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth

AnnMaura Connolly
Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President, City Year, Inc.

Jeffrey Thielman
Chief Executive Officer and President, International Institute of New England

John Dillon
Founder, Chrysalis

Fr. Scott Santarosa, SJ
Jesuits West Provincial

Fr. Steve Katsouros, SJ
Executive Director at Arrupe College

Marilyn Pryle
Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year (2019)

Colin Crowell
Vice President of Global Public Policy and Corporate Philanthropy, Twitter

Trena and Kevin Yonkers-Talz
Co-Directors and Co-Founders, Casa de la Solidaridad

John Carron
Managing Director, Goldman Sachs

Eileen Quigley
Sustainability Manager, National Resources Defense Council

 

 

  • fjv, alumni feature, social justice

    People are sometimes afraid to adopt a plant-based eating pattern out of fear they’ll feel deprived. But veganism is not about deprivation. Rather, veganism is about abundance: abundant compassion, abundant culinary discovery, abundant health, the preservation of our only home, and the prevailing of our values.

    Colleen Kane

    San Francisco, CA 2017-18

    Read More

  • fjv, alumni feature, community

    Nicole and I agree that, as we each look back on the different things we’ve been part of in our 50-plus years, Jesuit Volunteer Corps stands out. The fun part of JVC for me was traveling around the West for parties with other communities. It was my own community, though, that prompted me to grow more in that one year than in any other single year in my life.

    Sonny Marks

    Sacramento, CA 1990-91

    Read More

  • alumni feature, fjv

    If the values of JVC continue to resonate with you as you contemplate your next steps, then I encourage you to think about participating in the CLA program! It has been a truly transformative and life-giving experience for me.

    Amanda McCulloch (Newark, NJ 2008-09)

    Newark, NJ 2008-09

    Read More

  • love stories, alumni feature, fjv

    My community, my roommates, my best friends have taught me to both share and receive unconditional love. We have a built a life together in New York City.

    Brittany Robinson

    Harlem, NY 2021-22

    Read More

  • fjv, alumni feature, community

    Community has taught me about myself and exposed me to new perspectives. We can talk about hard things in community. Conversations get deeper, problems can get worked out, walls can come down. It's never perfect, it's rarely easy, but it is enriching. I would not be the person I am today without living in intentional communities.

    Spencer Liechty

    San Jose/Santa Clara, CA 2016-17

    Read More