LIVE Q&A’S WITH MERCY VOLUNTEER CORPS
Interested in a year of service? Join Mercy Volunteer Corps for a Q&A! Staff, alumni, Sisters, and current volunteers answer questions about their year of service, why they selected their city, how volunteering has influenced their career, and more! All events are streamed on MVC’s YouTube page and previous recordings are available on our channel. Questions can be directed to staff at recruitment@mercyvolunteers.org.
October 2022: International Service MVC alumna, Anna ’19, talks about her experience serving as a teacher in Guyana, South America. She answers questions about building relationships in her volunteer and local Guyanese communities.
Social Services There are a variety of social services opportunities to cultivate mercy and justice. MVC alumna, Rachel ’21, talks about her experience serving at Project H.O.M.E. where she supported people experiencing homelessness.
November 2022: Education Former Mercy Volunteer, Lauren, shares her experience serving at St. Peter’s Elementary School in San Francisco, and how that has contributed to her career as a teacher. Join us to ask your questions about a year of compassionate service with MVC!
December 2022: Healthcare Are you considering a gap year before furthering your education in healthcare? Former Mercy Volunteer, Symone, answers your questions about her time serving in a community health center with MVC prior to attending Yale University. Symone is now a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and is excited to share her journey with you!
January 2023: Short-term Experience – Mercy Ecospirituality Center Former Mercy Volunteer, Bekah, answers FAQs about serving with Mercy Volunteer Corps for 6 weeks in the summer at Mercy Ecospirituality Center in Benson, Vermont. Mercy Volunteers care for the land and animals as well as provide hospitality for visiting retreatants. Learn more and start your application here.
February 2023: Simple Living Mercy Volunteers commit to a countercultural and mindful way of being rooted in relationships and presence. Former Mercy Volunteer, Grace, shares her experience with a simple lifestyle in the community and how her experience contributes to her work now as a Habitat Viability Coordinator.
March 2023: Community Living in intentional community with fellow Mercy Volunteers is an opportunity to grow in many ways! Mercy Volunteers share themselves and their experiences vulnerably as they support one another in their commitments to compassionate service, spiritual growth, and simple living. Two former community mates, Min Ji and Joseph, share the gifts and challenges of the experience.
April 2023: Mercy Amy ’11 has been involved with the Circle of Mercy as a Mercy Volunteer, Mercy Associate, and Mercy Global Action Emerging Fellow. But what does it mean to be part of the Circle of Mercy? In this Q&A, Amy shares her experience in partnership with the Sisters of Mercy in justice, spirituality, and community!
May 2023: Justice Mercy Volunteers grow in their understanding of systemic injustices through their experience and the relationships formed. Learn about one person’s journey in justice and the issues championed by the Mercy community. Sister Carren will reflect on her story as an advocate for justice and share how volunteers engage in and act on Mercy’s Critical Concerns.
June 2023: Spiritual Growth Grounded in a spirit of hospitality, MVC welcomes people of all or no faiths. Mercy Volunteers embrace the gift of a diverse spiritual community to grow as individuals and together. Former Mercy Volunteer, Amanda ’19, shares her experience with spiritual growth during her service year as well as the influence on her current academic study.
ARCHIVED LIVESTREAM Q&A’S WITH MERCY VOLUNTEER CORPS (2021-2022)
October 26, 2021: International Service Mercy Volunteers who have served in Guyana, South America share their experiences from discerning service abroad, being present through challenges, and building relationships across cultures. The panel discusses compassionate service in education, social services, and healthcare.
November 17, 2021: Discernment Discernment is a spiritual practice of carefully considering your next steps, your gifts and passions, and how you can best serve yourself and the world around you. Colleen, an MVC Alumna and Sister of Mercy, will offer prayer, tools, and reflections for your discernment.
December, 2021: U.S. Service Where can service lead you? A panel of current Mercy Volunteers share their experiences and answer your questions about how a year of service in healthcare, education, or social service can impact you personally and professionally!
January 13, 2022: Short-term Experience – Mercy Ecospirituality Center Join Mercy Volunteer Corps for an evening of exploring ecospirituality. MVC offers a short-term summer volunteer experience focused on ecology. Applications must be submitted by February 15!
March 23, 2022: Why Service? A conversation with current Mercy Volunteers from various communities. Volunteers serving in education, healthcare, and social services talk about their experiences. Get all your questions answered about serving in the U.S. and internationally.
May 24, 2022: Cultivating Mercy & Justice Throughout their year of service, Mercy Volunteers cultivate Mercy and justice through compassion. Join current volunteers for a live Q&A and ask your questions about their work in healthcare, education, and social services.
Want to hear more? Check out MVC’s YouTube playlist – MVC Info Sessions for the complete list of livestream Q&As.
ALUMNI EVENTS BY MERCY VOLUNTEER CORPS
Mercy Volunteer Corps Alumni events like trivia, retreats, and webinars.
October 21, 2022: Fall Trivia Join MVC for a virtual Alumni Trivia Night on Friday at 8PM ET. Join as an individual and we will match you with a team or pull together your own team of 3-4 alumni friends!
October 25, 2022: Alumni Survey Inviting all alumni to complete our MVC Alumni Survey! We value our partnership with our alumni community and want to continue to enrich our programming to better serve you. Your feedback is an important part of the process. The survey has closed.
February 11, 2023: Virtual Alumni Retreat All alumni are invited to join MVC on Saturday for our virtual alumni retreat, facilitated by Michelle Sherman. This opportunity will provide space to connect with your fellow MVC alumni and seek the meaning of partnership. The fee for this retreat is a $25 donation to a volunteer’s extending the circle. Fill out this form to register. The deadline to register is Tuesday, January 31.
ARCHIVED SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS
Join Mercy Volunteer Corps as we explore social justice issues that are prevalent in our world today. Events will specifically focus on the Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and include Immigration, Non-Violence, Earth, Women, and Racism. Speakers will facilitate these sessions and help participants learn more about these areas and how we can be better advocates for social justice.
Immigration Alumni Patricia Grace, Joe Farmer, and Quetzalli Rocha will discuss immigration justice for MVC’s first event in the Social Justice Series. The panel will share their experiences as Mercy Volunteers serving at Catholic Migration Services and Women’s Intercultural Center. All three have continued careers in immigration and will passionately share stories and perspectives on challenges faced by immigrants and what we can do to be advocates for justice.
Non-Violence Mercy Volunteer Corps alumni, Matthew Guiffre, Alex Pierlott, Jen Sens, and Anneka Vanderveen, gather for a panel discussion about the Mercy Critical Concern of Nonviolence. The panel will share their experience and passion for nonviolent social change. They bring a variety of perspectives including teaching, social work, activism with children, teens, and those who are incarcerated, and criminal justice reform. Please join the Mercy community for this conversation about nonviolent social change.
Earth Anne Curtis RSM will discuss the critical concern for the care for earth and the initiatives of Mercy Ecology. Learn about opportunities to engage in earth justice work including a summer of service with MVC at Mercy EcoSpirituality Center.
Women Mercy Volunteer Corps alumni participate in a panel discussion on the Mercy Critical Concern of Women. Hear the experiences of former volunteers serving in women’s health, education, and advocacy.
Racism In the final session of Mercy Volunteer Corps’ Social Justice Series, The Sisters of Mercy Institute Office of Anti-Racism and Racial Equity team will bring attention to microaggressions in the workplace. The vulnerable and rich conversation will help MVC work to become more intentional advocates of racial justice.