Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest

Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) Northwest connects people with one or more years of volunteer service that focus on JVC Northwest's values of community, spirituality, simple living and social and ecological justice. JVC Northwest provides opportunities for individuals to reach out to persons living on the margins of society and vulnerable places throughout the Pacific Northwest. Jesuit Volunteers live and serve with partner agencies in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest started in 1956 with several committed volunteers who built and taught in the newly formed Copper Valley School for Alaska Native and non-Native children. Under the sponsorship of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the Jesuit Volunteers expanded out of Alaska in the 1960s. They began living and working with Native American communities throughout the Northwest region, as well as serving in inner city placements in Washington and Oregon and beyond. From its roots in the Northwest, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps has spread throughout the United States and abroad. Over the past 50 years over 12,000 individuals have served as Jesuit Volunteers through JVC and JVC Northwest, with more than 7,000 of those serving in the Northwest.

In 2009, five of the six Jesuit Volunteer Corps organizations merged to form an organization called Jesuit Volunteers to share resources for one common mission. JVC Northwest made a decision to remain an independent region when the East, Midwest, South and Southwest regions, along with Jesuit Volunteers International, made a decision to unite. Both groups continue to collaborate. JVC Northwest states its commitment to providing well-supported volunteers to address the most urgent needs in the Pacific Northwest.

JVC Northwest has four stated values: community, simple living, social and ecological justice, and spirituality/reflection. Jesuit Volunteers make a commitment to the JVC Northwest program and to their service placements to strive to live these four values.

Community: JVs live with one another in a community setting. The process of building community offers an opportunity to share experience, faith and hope. People come to JVC Northwest with diverse backgrounds and expectations. The challenge for each person is to respect and learn from these differences while building on common values. Community requires time, effort and sacrifice, while giving back many wonderful, unexpected gifts. Volunteer communities are places to share and grow collectively and individually. Living in community often marks the beginning of lasting friendships.

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