January 2015 Newsletter

MERCY VOLUNTEER CORPS Transforming Lives, Perspectives, The World

Resolutions

MVC staff list their top ten goals for the New Year of 2015

Feature

Sue LaVoie talks about joining MVC support staff in CT

Alumni

Detroit alumni celebrated the holidays by serving

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Jonathan and Sr. Ann Driscol, RSM

Guyana volunteers

Cristina dancing at her service site

Arizona volunteers

Lauren and Sr. Christel Nolan, RSM Philly volunteers at the love statue

What’s Behind That Door?

Companion Sue LaVoie talks about joining the support staff in Hartford, CT Have you ever passed by a door and wondered what lay behind it? Some we choose to open and others remain closed. Who knows what we might have missed.

Just such a door came into view during the early summer of 2014 and for whatever reason I knew I had to open it ... the MVC support person door. Hartford, CT had been chosen as a site for our first group of volunteers. Due to circumstances, we needed to act fast: find and furnish an apartment for 3 women. The whole Mercy Community including Associates, Sisters, and me as a Companion accomplished this in about 3 weeks. This work alone knitted us together in unexpected ways and we awaited with anticipation the arrival of Alex, Sonia and Lauren.

It does take a committed group to support the volunteers and I wasn’t alone as Sisters Lorraine

LaVigne, RSM and Judy Carey, RSM offered every measure of hospitality. But this was just the beginning. What I never expected when I opened this door was the impact on me. Part of the work of the support person is to meet regularly with the volunteers and reflect on topics provided in a notebook. This is where I felt the Spirit touch us all ... as we reflected on ways of prayer, spirituality, real in-depth justice issues, conflict and communication, self care. These evenings of sharing opened me to the solid foundation of MVC but even more to the women themselves. How had they made this profound choice to live together with strangers and serve the poor for a year in an unknown city? Their ministries, their new lives together, our discussions deepened my own sense of the mystery of God, the sheer

goodness of people, the simplicity of life when we trust God. We’ve had our moments of laughter while cutting out pumpkins, times of exhaustion after long days at Thanksgiving and Christmas when they could relax and let us take care of them. In the second half of the year we have a winter retreat, more reflection on Mercy, caring for Earth and theological reflection. I NEVER expected to receive so much ... So much that would deepen my own spirituality, relationships that I hope will extend far beyond this year and a deeper connection with all of Mercy. I have found a new ministry at 71, being present to three exceptional women, and in return I have been blessed beyond all expectations.

If you see that door marked “MVC”, I urge you to open it. You cannot begin to guess how your life will be deepened and changed.

Photo from left to right: Lauren, , Alex, Sue LaVoie, and Sonia

New Year

New Goals 2015 for MVC

Have A Goal?

1. Alumni: Create more events and programs for our alumni to reconnect with Mercy Volunteer Corps. In addition, creating programs alumni can participate in remotely.

Suggest: If you have a suggestion to add to our goals for 2015, let us know! We would love to hear what is important to you and what interests and excites you about Mercy Volunteer Corps’ continued growth and expansion.

MVC Staff has 10 New Goals for the New Year

2. Recruitment: Plan more webinars to increase our recruitment efforts and make the staff more available for applicant questions.

Also, to reexamine our recruitment process and timeline.

3. Communication: Increase our online presence by being more active and engaging on social media.

4. Expansion: Continue our effort to expand to new cities and service sites both nationally and internationally.

5. Volunteers: Better document their experience as a Mercy Volunteer through photos, blogs, and videos. Also, to develop a leadership training program throughout their volunteer year.

6. Mission: Find new ways to thank our donors and better engage them in our mission.

7. Transition: Create more opportunities for our volunteers to more easily transition into their new role as alumni.

8. Vision: Meet our donors and hear their vision for the future of Mercy Volunteer Corps.

9. Marketing: Create a new marketing plan that represents MVC and better enables us to spread our mission to external audiences.

10. Events: Continue to create events that allow us to personally connect with our volunteers, alumni, donors, and supporters.

Let us know your favorite goal: @mercyvolunteers on twitter and instagram

We love to hear from you

Plan: If you would like to help plan events or programs with the Mercy Volunteer Corps staff, contact us! We are especially interested in planning events for potential applicants and, of course, our alumni! Helping our staff plan these events ensures that we continue to spread our mission.

Participate: Come out and support the events in 2015! Whether you are a volunteer, alumni, donor, or just interested in our mission, we always love to see our supporters!

Report: Keep us updated on where you are and what you are doing so we can plan events in your city that interest you! We also love to hear your feedback on events and programs.

Please Contact:

elizabethmacneal@mercyvolunteers.org

Potential Volunteers: Recruitment Information Recruitment Season 2015

Mercy Volunteer Corps is in our busiest time of recruitment! Our priority deadline was January 15, 2015 for both national and international placements.

With this priority deadline we have received an influx of applications in the month of January. Our next big deadline is quickly approaching as well. March 2, 2015 is our final application deadline for anyone who plans to apply to our international program in Guyana, South America.

As we continue into the final months of recruitment for our 2015-2016 volunteers, we ask each of our MVC Alumna, Danielle Daguio ‘10, writes about serving during the holidays supporters to continue to reach out For the week of Dec 29 - Jan 2 Karen Brustman ‘12, Rich Samartino to anyone who you believe would ‘14, and I volunteered in 3 kitchens of local shelters. We prepped and make a great Mercy Volunteer. It is important to us, as a staff, that our served lunches and dinners at Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries’ Genesis House III, a women and children’s shelter with residents who mission continues to be spread not are in alcohol/drug abuse treatment and transitional housing. We also just through our own efforts but our supporters as well. At MVC, we take served meals at Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries’ all male facility, pride in our personalized recruitment which is for emergency shelter and transitional housing. Finally, process that focuses on each applicant we prepped, served lunch, and assisted in the food pantry of Cass and their specific goals as a long-term Community Social Services. Cass Community Social Services offers volunteer. This personalized approach housing and unique job opportunities to homeless persons (utilizing would not be possible without your used tires, they shred them to create creative doormats and flip help! flops!). At Cass, we served meals for 150 residents and many more As our deadlines quickly approach, from the community. This was a great way to serve, end and begin we will be traveling to many the year, and learn more about Mercy through our fellow Detroiters! univerisities and colleges to meet potential volunteers. If you would like an MVC Community Coordinator to visit your school, church, or community event to talk more about becoming a Jake DeMarias ‘13 and Stacy Konow ‘13 are engaged! Jake and Mercy Volunteer please email us at Stacy will be married on August 8th in Cross Plains, Wisconsin. the address provided below. As our organization continues to grow, we are actively seeking new opportunities to meet and engage potential Mercy Volunteers. Creating these new Our Lenten Mailing is being mailed out this week to all of our opportunities will enable us to continue Alumni to help you reconnect with MVC and our core values. If to flourish as an organization as we you would like to receive this Lenten surprise please update your grow into the future. contact information by completing the form on our website: www.mercyvolunteers.org/alumni/stay-connected/update-information ContactUs@mercyvolunteers.org

How Detroit Does Holidays

Alumni Announcements Alumni Mailing

ABOUT MERCY VOLUNTEER CORPS

Mercy Volunteer Corps promotes social change by placing and supporting volunteers for one year of service with people who are poor and marginalized in the U.S. and South America. Mercy Volunteers work in education, healthcare, and social services while living together in a community and growing spiritually.

Mercy Volunteer Corps 1325 Sumneytown Pike Gwynedd Valley, PA 19437 Phone: 215.641.5535 ContactUs@mercyvolunteers.org www.mercyvolunteers.org www.mercyvolunteers.tumblr.com

February Events

Feb. 9 Governance Committee Meets Feb. 16 President’s Day Feb. 18 Ash Wednesday Feb. 23 Finance Committee Meets

Recruitment Visits

St. Joseph’s College, Maine Seton Hall University Stonehill College San Francisco Mercy High St. Bonaventure University

Webinar

Chris Davidson will host an informational webinar on February 17, 2015 for anyone who is interested in volunteering with Mercy Volunteer Corps, has application questions, or needs more information on service sites. Chris will talk about these topics and open the discussion for any questions. Please check our website for more information on how and when to participate: www.mercyvolunteers.org/webinar

Extending the Circle

Extending the Circle is a unique program offered

by MVC that allows you to support a specific volunteer.

Check out the volunteers’ individual pages to sponsor them in their year of service!

Donate Now

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