Since 1956, over 12,000 women and men have made a commitment to serve where the need is greatest through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and found themselves “ruined for life.” Jesuit Volunteers commit themselves to working with people who are marginalized by society and to living in apostolic community with other JVs.
The Jesuit Volunteer Corps is a national and international program operated by six regional offices. Thus JVC staff can continue to understand local needs, retain regional ties, and provide the strong personal and programmatic support to the volunteers that is the hallmark of JVC.
In all, about 300 JVs each year work in the United States and in six countries around the world. Hundreds of grassroots organizations across the country count on JVs to provide essential services to low-income people and those who live on the margins of our society.
JVs work for and with people who are homeless unemployed, refugees, people with AIDS, the elderly, street youth, abused women and children, the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled. JVC has become the largest Catholic lay volunteer program in the country.
JVC is more than just a job. Social justice, simple living, community and spirituality: these values provide the cornerstone for living out a commitment to faith and justice.
Jesuit Volunteers in the New York City Area