Jesuit Volunteers

Here at Catholic Charities, we have lots of different kinds of volunteers: from those who help settle families, to office helpers, to a particular type of volunteer--the Jesuit Volunteer.



Sarah Dupont is a Jesuit volunteer (or "JV") who works at Catholic Charities here in Portland.  She offered some insight into the work that the Jesuit Volunteers do and her own personal experiences with the program and with Catholic Charities here in Portland:

What exactly are Jesuit volunteers?

            Jesuit Volunteers are individuals who commit to a year of service with a marginalized population. Most JVs have just graduated from college (usually a Jesuit College!) though some JVs are older adults wanting to do some serious service. JVs by four core values: Simplicity, Social Justice, Spirituality and Community. We live in communities with other JVs and together we try to explore these values. My position is funded by an AmeriCorps grant through JVC Northwest.

How did you decide to become a volunteer?

I decided to become a volunteer because I several friends who had done it and it changed their lives. I wanted to be “ruined for life” (a favorite JV expression)—meaning I wanted to nurture my passion for service so that it would last through my future career.

How does the application/selection/placement process work? 

In JVC Northwest you get a chance to list your top choices for a placement or a location but it does not guarantee a specific placement. The JVC Northwest office spends a lot of time carefully deliberating which JV would make the biggest difference where. My first choice placement happened to be with Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement—I had worked with refugee families before and I knew that I wanted to do it again. I had a passion for helping refugees and I wanted to spend a year learning more about the resettlement programs in the United States.

What do you like the most about being a Jesuit volunteer?

I love the community—they are incredibly supportive. Working in refugee resettlement, though it is full of wonderful relationships, can be tough. Sometimes it really gets to me when I cannot solve all of a family’s problems. In those moments it is great to be able to go home and talk through these issues with friends who are experiencing the same kinds of things. Also, my community is just tons of fun. We make sure to take a break from talking about work and do fun things like bowling, cooking Indian food, hiking, etc.

What do you like the most about working at Catholic Charities?

I love how passionate everyone seems to be about their work. People really do care about the individuals with whom they are working. I also like the focus on human dignity when we are working with our clients (a very Jesuit ideal!).

How do you like Portland?

Portland has been great—it is pretty different than Salt Lake City (where I grew up). To describe it in short, I think those “keep Portland weird” bumper stickers are working.

What are your housemates like?

My housemates are some of the most caring and amazing people you will ever encounter. Each and every one of them is incredibly dedicated to their work and the people they work with. Four of us work at Catholic Charities—the others work around Portland in different social service agencies.  

What is the most challenging part of being a Jesuit volunteer?

The most challenging part of being a Jesuit volunteer is becoming very familiar with the ways that systems are “broken” (be it housing, DHS, immigration, whatever) and not being able to fix it. I know that all of my housemates and I feel like there is nothing harder than having to tell someone who comes to you for help, “yeah, that really is unfair, I am sorry, but I cannot do anything for you.”

Would you recommend being a Jesuit volunteer to other people? What advice would you give young people who are thinking of joining?

I highly recommend becoming a Jesuit Volunteer—it rocks! If you are thinking of joining JVC Northwest then I would contact their office and ask them to put you in touch with a current JV. Find out as much as you can about their life and what are the highs and lows of being a JV. (as you can probably tell by now, we love to talk!)

Do you have any particularly funny anecdotes about being a Jesuit volunteer?

I mentioned that our house does regular fun activities together, right? Well a few weeks ago some of us were just feeling depressed about injustices in the world so we decided to do something extra special for our community night. We had already planned to go bowling but we decided to spice it up a bit and wore fake mustaches and wigs to the local bowling alley. Once there, we choreographed cheers for whoever got a strike/spare. The city of Gresham now thinks that we are insane, but it cheered us up immensely.