VIRTUAL EVENTS
Interested in a year or summer of service? Join Mercy Volunteer Corps for a Q&A or virtual event! Staff, alumni, Sisters, and current volunteers answer questions about service, why they selected their city, how volunteering has influenced their career, and more! All events are streamed on MVC’s YouTube page and previous recordings are available on our channel. Questions can be directed to staff at recruitment@mercyvolunteers.org.
Discernment Evenings: As you consider full-time service, it is helpful to pause the busyness of life to reflect, discuss, and pray about the choices before you. Mercy Volunteer alumni are hosting Discernment Evenings to support you in your journey! Find a distraction-free and comfortable space, bring a journal, and join us for this low-pressure gathering of folks considering a year or summer of service and alumni of MVC to share experiences and the call to service.
Past Events: Wednesday, February 12 and December 4.
ARCHIVED LIVE Q&A’S
November 2024: Informational Webinar Mercy Volunteers cultivate mercy and justice through a summer or year of compassionate service in education, healthcare, and social services. While serving in the spirit of mutuality, Mercy Volunteers commit to social justice, spiritual growth, and simple living in community. Join us to learn more about Mercy Volunteer Corps and have your questions answered live by Andrea, an MVC staff member and alum.
April 2024: Building Your Career MVC alum, Isaac ’20/’21, and Mercy Volunteer, Grace ’23, share their experiences discerning MVC while figuring out their career path. A year of service is a great opportunity to explore a new potential passion or affirm your current goals. Isaac and Grace will be on hand to address burning questions about gaining valuable professional experience, finding support, and making a meaningful impact as a Mercy Volunteer.
March 2024: Summer Service MVC alums, Kaitlyn ’23 and Grace ’23, share their experience as Mercy Volunteers at Mercy Ecospirituality Center (MEC). Kaitlyn and Grace cared for the land and animals at MEC in Benson, VT. While serving, they shared in spiritual growth and a simple and sustainable lifestyle in community.
February 2024: Affording A Service Experience Mercy Volunteers receive housing, transportation, stipends, health insurance, and more. Even still, forgoing an income for a year of compassionate service can be intimidating financially. MVC alums Lauren ’21 and Lily ’21 share their experiences and answer your questions about finances.
February 2024: Volunteering As A Retiree At the age of 62 and shortly following their retirement, Dottie ’06 and Skip Glover ’06 chose to volunteer with Mercy Volunteer Corps. Come and hear about why they chose to serve full-time (without a salary), live in intentional community with younger volunteers (when they were empty-nesters), and engage in a simple lifestyle (when they were living comfortably) and how their perspectives were changed through this experience.
January 2024: A Day in the Life Mercy Volunteer, Faith ’23, gives insight into the volunteer and Mercy Volunteer Corps service experience! She goes in-depth about flourishing at her service site and in her city, living in community, embracing spirituality, bonding with the local support team, and more.
December 2023: A Parent’s Perspective Mercy Volunteer, Cat ’23, and her dad share the gifts and benefits of the year of service with Mercy Volunteer Corps. Sometimes parents are nervous about a year of service instead of continuing education or entering the workforce. Often they are concerned about finances, safety, and professional impact. Cat and her dad will share their response to parents’ most frequently asked questions to help ease some of the uncertainty.
November 2023: Volunteering in Guyana, South America Mercy Volunteers, Micaela ’23/’24 and Emily ’23, answer your questions about life as international Mercy Volunteers in Guyana. As a teacher and an EMT, they are serving alongside people experiencing injustice from a growing wealth gap and exploitation. They are grateful for Guyanese hospitality which has opened the door for new friendships and cultural experiences. Enjoy hearing their stories of building community through service.
November 2023: I’m Not Religious, Can I Still Serve? MVC alum, Devarsh ’22, shares his experience as a Mercy Volunteer who does not conform to a single religion. Devarsh engaged in spiritual growth as an individual and within the Mercy community. Tonight, Devarsh answers your questions about the gifts of interfaith relationships and experiences during a year of service.
June 2023: Spiritual Growth Grounded in a spirit of hospitality, MVC welcomes people of all or no faiths. Mercy Volunteers embrace the gift of a diverse spiritual community to grow as individuals and together. Former Mercy Volunteer, Amanda ’19, shares her experience with spiritual growth during her service year as well as the influence on her current academic study.
Want to hear more? Check out MVC’s YouTube playlist – MVC Info Sessions for the complete list of livestream Q&As.
ALUMNI EVENTS BY MERCY VOLUNTEER CORPS
Mercy Volunteer Corps Alumni events like trivia, retreats, and webinars.
April 9, 2025: Virtual Alumni Reunion All alumni, site supervisors, and support people are invited to join us on Wednesday from 7:00-8:30 pm ET, for a virtual alumni reunion! This will be a time to reconnect as alumni, with a time for reflection as a large group and additional memory sharing in small groups. The deadline to register is Wednesday, April 2. Register for the reunion here.
January 25, 2025: Virtual Alumni Retreat All alumni are invited to join MVC on Saturday from 10 am – 3 pm ET for our virtual alumni retreat, facilitated by Mercy Associate, Avis Clendenen. The retreat theme is “Insights into the Vision of Leadership Rooted and Routed in the Mercy Charism.” The fee for this retreat is a $25 donation to a volunteer’s extending the circle. The event has passed.
Visit MVC’s alumni page to stay up-to-date on the latest alumni events, news, and more!
ARCHIVED SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS
Mercy Volunteer Corps explored social justice issues that are prevalent in our world today. Events specifically focused on the Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and included Immigration, Non-Violence, Earth, Women, and Racism. Speakers facilitated these sessions and helped participants learn more about these areas and how to be better advocates for social justice.
Immigration Alumni Patricia Grace, Joe Farmer, and Quetzalli Rocha will discuss immigration justice for MVC’s first event in the Social Justice Series. The panel will share their experiences as Mercy Volunteers serving at Catholic Migration Services and Women’s Intercultural Center. All three have continued careers in immigration and will passionately share stories and perspectives on challenges faced by immigrants and what we can do to be advocates for justice.
Non-Violence Mercy Volunteer Corps alumni, Matthew Guiffre, Alex Pierlott, Jen Sens, and Anneka Vanderveen, gather for a panel discussion about the Mercy Critical Concern of Nonviolence. The panel will share their experience and passion for nonviolent social change. They bring a variety of perspectives including teaching, social work, activism with children, teens, and those who are incarcerated, and criminal justice reform. Please join the Mercy community for this conversation about nonviolent social change.
Earth Anne Curtis RSM will discuss the critical concern for the care for earth and the initiatives of Mercy Ecology. Learn about opportunities to engage in earth justice work including a summer of service with MVC at Mercy EcoSpirituality Center.
Women Mercy Volunteer Corps alumni participate in a panel discussion on the Mercy Critical Concern of Women. Hear the experiences of former volunteers serving in women’s health, education, and advocacy.
Racism In the final session of Mercy Volunteer Corps’ Social Justice Series, The Sisters of Mercy Institute Office of Anti-Racism and Racial Equity team will bring attention to microaggressions in the workplace. The vulnerable and rich conversation will help MVC work to become more intentional advocates of racial justice.