Sidebar: Volunteers get a lot by giving to others

By MAUREEN MCGUINNESS- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Faith development is one of many benefits volunteers in faith-based volunteer programs experience.

"Our volunteers grow in faith tremendously," said Stephanie DeBenedetti, program director of the 10-year-old Franciscan Volunteer Ministry. "They learn to be grateful for everything they have. They receive more than they could ever give, and this affects their relationships and their values -- and it changes their attitude about life."

Many volunteers come to the program having believed that a good life involves going to school, getting good grades, getting a good job, and then purchasing a house with a white picket fence. After a year of service, the volunteers know that this isn't necessarily the good life.

"When they leave, they know that it doesn't matter how much money you make," Ms. DeBenedetti said.

Learning about self

Kathleen Haser of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps agreed. "They learn a lot about the world and themselves," she said. "They know the real struggles of the poor in society. They form relationships with the poor and their hearts get broken."

The Jesuit Volunteer Corps, she said, provides volunteers with the opportunity to work for social justice and develop their faith. The jobs the volunteers take are actual positions rather than made-up assignments.

"They provide valuable service to organizations that work directly with the poor," Ms. Haser said of the volunteers. "It's great job experience. They're front-line people with real jobs."

The volunteers take many risks like living in the inner city and working in difficult jobs, but there are many rewards, according to Ms. Haser. "They learn they can do things that are personally challenging," she said.

Faith at base

Both the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and Franciscan Volunteer Ministry require volunteers to live together in a faith community.

"They live in community with people they don't choose to live with, and they share deeply with them," Ms. Haser said.

This intimate faith-sharing is one of the things that people miss after their service is complete.

"They struggle when they leave to find a faith group to be connected to," said Ms. DeBenedetti. "Parishes are often about people with kids and the elderly. Others fall through the cracks."

Adapting

Another struggle volunteers face after their service is complete is returning to a middle-class lifestyle.

"People struggle after a year in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps," explained Ms. Haser. "They live simply and see it's possible. Then there is confusion when they go to graduate school or a job and they are faced with consumerism. They struggle on how to continue to live the values and have a spiritual life."

Open doors

Living a year free of consumerism and working on the front lines in the war against poverty opens doors for many volunteers.

"It's great job experience," Ms. Haser said. "They have a whole year of work experience. A year of service in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps on a resume is a tremendous boost."

Ms. DeBenedetti has found many volunteers have career opportunities because of the service they provided with the Franciscan Volunteer Ministry.

"One lawyer got his job because he had volunteered a year with us," she said. "Many volunteers get scholarships to graduate school and medical school because of volunteering with us."

Help on loans

Another benefit volunteers in both the Franciscan Volunteer Ministry and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps have is student loan deferment and education vouchers. Americorps, the national volunteer service initiative, provides volunteers in these two programs, as well as other faith-based programs, with an education award. Worth $4,700, they can be used to pay off student loans or to pursue an advanced degree.

But such career and financial incentives should not be the driving force in making a decision to volunteer a year, the coordinators said.

"We're looking for Christian persons who want to live a year in service and in prayer with their housemates," Ms. DeBenedetti said. (MM)

(11-19-98) [[In-content Ad]]