Our volunteers are all semi-retired or retired from various careers and backgrounds. For this reason, they bring a wonderful kaleidoscope of experience to share. Among our volunteers, we have:
- A lawyer doing pro-bono work and a teacher who instructs ESL students at St. Vincent de Paul Village, a homeless shelter for women, men, and children.
- An administrative law clerk, a homemaker, a teacher, and a semi-retired executive director of marketing and development providing pro-bono legal services at Casa Cornelia Law Center for victims of human and civil rights violations.
- A retired administrative assistant at Rachel’s Women’s Center who welcomes homeless women off the street at a Catholic Charities shelter.
- A nurse, a risk management specialist, and a civil rights attorney at a Catholic Charities safe house who comfort and teach immigrant witnesses held as detainees by Immigration.
- A California Workman’s Compensation adjuster who coordinates and teaches ESL for Catholic Charities Refugees
- A nurse practitioner and a former regional director for IVC who advocate for social justice at the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice
- And two other volunteers who are discerning where their talents can best be used.
The opportunity for IVC volunteers to gather once a month to pray and share their service experiences builds a sense of community among them. Additionally, each IVC member meets monthly with a Spiritual Reflector to share their volunteer experiences and the effect that working with people who are poor has on their faith journey. Volunteers also gather for two days of Prayer and Reflection and an overnight retreat during the year – all wonderful opportunities to build community and spend time contemplating God’s presence in their life and the people they serve.
Read Ursula Briner's story at the Rachel’s Women’s Center
Or Ken's Doyle's Story of teaching basic English to refugees