Volunteer blogs and stories
Blog
JV community in Hays, MT http://haysjvs2010.blogspot.com/
Film
Ben in Seattle, Washington
Check out the film made by Seattle JV, Ben Beehner as he explores the volunteer experience of his friend and housemate Ryan Wiser at Providence Hospice.
Stories of Service
When I've got good news, I can't contain it. If there has been one thing I've learned this year it's this: you can't fix everything, but you can certainly try to improve the situation. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Well, I wanted to share with you all a story where my fretting, tugging, pulling, gently pushing (in my non-violent way, haha), and patiently working to inspire a young woman to live life as fully and as openly as she can has worked. I wanted to mention my involvement with a young, 25-year-old woman who has been fighting cancer since she was 17. As of now, her cancer is stable and almost in remission.
I would say this particular client has been the person I've become closest with. Our closeness in age might have been the reason we connected so well, but this is someone for whom I have worked to find resources, support groups, activities to do in the area and have visited every week since last October. She continues to come up in conversations with my roomies, with my area director in JVC Northwest, my parents and friends at home, etc. I just can't quite let this woman's story remain quiet, hence my reasoning for sharing with you all.
To let you in our story, we started on this road last October. When I first met her, she was withdrawn, depressed and lacked any spark or love of life. Over time, we began to get to the root of what really was going on in her heart and soul, mainly asking the question of why that spark/love of life had left her. She shared with me the struggles she faced in life and believe me, they were huge. She was born with cancer and that went into remission. She was abused as child and teenager by her father, and then was diagnosed with cancer again at 17. She wasn't able to go to college and on to the bigger parts of life that 20-year-olds go on to do. Also, she hasn't had too many loving and trusting people in her life. So, that's where we had to begin our journey.
I guess you can say my role in all of this was to help her try and see that love, friendship, trust, joy, and good people do exist in this world and they can be found in the many acts of giving, loving and listening. I helped her explore various things she was interested in, like arts and crafts, and let me tell you, we did a lot of arts and crafts. From there, it was getting out of the house and on to seeing movies together once a week in the afternoon, and we even took a trip up the Space Needle together, which was something she had never done. It was then on to finding classes and support groups for people her age who have survived or are still fighting cancer. These classes could range from basic painting to photography to discussing philosophy. I volunteered to drive her to the classes, participate in the group discussions, and I even made my own Zen garden with her.
Over time, I began to see little parts of her soul emerge and joy began to shine through her smile. Her voice would light up over the phone whenever I mentioned I was coming over to take her somewhere. The big joy for me as her volunteer came when I stumbled onto an awesome opportunity called Camp Make-a-Dream, which is a camp for children and young adults who have cancer who want to explore the outdoors. This was something back in October she would have never even agreed to do, but she seized the opportunity in April. She applied and was accepted, and we worked on getting her financial aid to go to Missoula, Mont., where the camp takes place in August. She got the financial support, and she's going! Today, she called me to let me know that she's hoping to apply to community college and take some classes part time. She told me something that I'll never forget, "I want to thank you for helping me find happiness again."
I wanted to share this story with you because I believe this is my reason for taking that giant leap of faith to participate in JVC Northwest and to give of myself this year. From the small acts of giving, listening and loving people for who they are with all your heart, you can help someone find meaning and happiness again, and you can personally make a profound impact on someone's life. I am lucky in the fact that I was able to see this come full-circle and to see the outcome.
Karen Hill, Providence Hospice of Seattle, Seattle, Wash.
JVC has been -- in a relatively short time - a space where I've been tested and refined. A fountain of self-discovery and realization has been flowing with rich insight into how I relate to others (strangers) and to all of creation. My gifts and my weaknesses are revealed each day, whether at home or at work. I am increasingly set free to be more of who I am. Through the support and acceptance of my community, I am learning to accept them and myself apart from my judgments. Though I am uncertain how I will "be ruined for life," I'm trusting God to use these days in JVC Northwest as preparation for me to be deeply invested with Him on a lifelong journey. The increasing number of questions in the context of His unsearchable mind, are leading me to a new understanding of "home." My hope is that I am able to humbly give up all my attachments and desires for His will.
Casey Burnett, The Wintonia, Seattle, Volunteers of America Portland
When I wake up in the morning, I am happy it is a day I get to go to work. Being in the midst of the kids I spend time with every day is one of the most draining, beneficial gifts I have ever received. Their smiles and daily pleas for me to sit with them at lunch have constructed within me a confidence and maturity that I never before knew was absent. My job allows me to see children not as victims of social justice, but as impressionable minds who can benefit from what I have to offer in all its simplicity. I do not think I will understand the monumental nature of this experience until it is beyond me, until I go to step back into my old world and realize that I have been permanently altered by the luxury of purity and the complicated yet refreshing safety of community.
Karen Zvarych, St. Labre Indian School, Ashland, Mont.
My name is Kristen Pichler and I graduated from Providence College in the Class of 2005. I was a political science major and a public and community service minor. I am currently serving in JVC Northwest. My placement is in Tacoma, Wash., a medium-sized city about an hour south of Seattle. I live in a house in a city neighborhood with five other JVs from all over the U.S. We each work at a different social service agency in Tacoma. I work at L'Arche Tahoma Hope, a community of developmentally disabled adults and assistants who choose to make their home together. I work in the day program called Noah's Workshop, where I spend time with "the folks" doing crafts, talking, going for walks and taking them out into the community to volunteer and interact with the public. I really feel like I have two communities and two "Tacoma families," the people I know at L'Arche and my JVC Northwest housemates. It has definitely made moving across the country easier to know that I am loved and cared for by so many people.
I chose to serve as a JV because I wanted to take some time after college to share my gifts and concern for society with those who are often marginalized. The people I work with have been rejected by society as less important and not as valuable simply because they cannot compete in our achievement-oriented society. I am discovering that they have gifts and wisdom to share with us all that we only discover when we take a moment to slow down and just be with another person.
I also became a JV because of the four values that every volunteer pledges to live during their year. Community, simple living, social justice and spirituality are important values that I want to live out for the rest of my life, and JVC Northwest has been the perfect place to affirm those values as I begin my adult life. Life as a JV is not always easy. It is really hard to live on a small budget, adjust to a completely new place, and learn to live and make decisions with a group of people who you had no choice in coming together with. But it is worth it. In the past four months I have learned so much, not only practical life skills but also deep things about myself and my relationship with God that will last a lifetime. I would recommend JVC Northwest to anyone who wants to embrace this kind of learning experience for themselves, live "counter-culturally" for a year, and to share gifts and talents they may not have known they had!
Kristen Pichler, L'Arche Tahoma Hope, Tacoma, Wash.
Christmas as a JV in Bethel, Alaska
Tom Manning, Bethel, Alaska '76-'77, JVC Northwest Board Member.
