On Monday October 1st, Saint Xavier University’s Campus Ministry hosted the Post Grad Service Fair. The event took place in the diner atrium from 11:30 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. Through this fair, students who had recently graduated, and will soon graduate, got to see all the different service options for post graduation.
One of the programs, FrancisCorps, is a young adult franciscan volunteer service experience. Through this program, the volunteers live in a young adult Christian community, share meals, and prayers together, serve the poor, and get to call the vibrant and diverse city of Syracuse, New York home. They get the opportunity to form friendships, have fun, and make memories with like-minded people.
Volunteers in this program can combine their experience through five retreats and a week long pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy. For more information on this program, go to www.franciscorps.org and see if it is a right fit for you.
Another program, Maryknoll Lay Missioners, has forty years of experience in training and helping to support missioners in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Maryknoll Lay Missioners work with communities to challenge the unjust structures that perpetuate poverty and exclusion.
In order to be able to apply, volunteers must be Catholic, 21 years or older, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, have direct volunteer service experience, come willing to learn a foreign language, willing to make a three and a half or two and a half year commitment to overseas service, and a person can be single or a married couple with no more than two children, eight years old or younger.
Karen Bortvedt, a recruitment manager for MKLM, says it is good to get involved with a post grad service program because, “I did two post grad services and it is a great way to connect with people out of your normal circle, to connect with the world, and if you see a story on the news you can relate to it makes us more compassionate to one another.”
Visit www.mklm.org to request an application or to learn more about Maryknoll Lay Missioners.
Another volunteer opportunity is the Glenmary Volunteer Program at Joppa Mountain, which is designed to give the participants a first hand experience in missionary service.
In these week long sessions, volunteers get to experience a blend of prayer, service, reflection, and sharing in an environment of simple living. The retreat is located northeast of Knoxville, Tennessee, near the small town of Rutledge in Grainger County. It mainly focuses on attending to the poor, the sick, and less fortunate.
The main goal of the Glenmary Volunteer Program at Joppa Mountain is to help the participants connect with God, teach them to serve others before themselves, and to find Christ in others.
For more information visit, www.glenmary.org/volopps, and see requirements and opportunities in this program.
The Franciscan Outreach is another great volunteer service and program to get involved with. For more than 50 years, Franciscan Outreach has been helping the Chicago neighbors in need.
Rachel Kohl says her main goal through this program is, “To foster a balance be- tween change. Direct change, like in homelessness, and social justice, like asking the hard question of why people are homeless.” Franciscan Outreach focuses on preparing meals, providing shelter, housing, support services, daily support, and case management to the homeless and less fortunate.
To learn more or reach out go to www. franoutreach.org.
Serve for a month, a summer, or a year through the Christian Appalachian Project, a direct service and intentional community in Eastern Kentucky.
Through the Christian Appalachian Project, the volunteers serve people in need in Appalachia like caring for the elderly, home repair services, educational programming, hunger and poverty relief, and much more.
When asked what she thinks about post grad service opportunities, Emily Redfern, a worker for the Christian Appalachian Project said, “I think every graduating senior should take a year or two off. They should do a volunteer program, take a break, and do anything but go get a job.”
Contact them for more information at www.christianapp.org. The application is available at volunteer@chrisapp.org.
Though there were many other post grad service programs and opportunities that did not get covered, students who recently graduated as well as those who are about to, came out and learned about the numerous volunteer opportunities available after graduation that correlate with the five critical concerns of Saint Xavier University’s founding Sisters of Mercy.
Kylee Rus
News Reporter
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