To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it. - Mother Teresa
Below are recent updates from volunteers who continue to cite their experience as a major factor in their personal and professional lives (please note that the program began as the Diocesan Service Corps (DSC) in 2001, and transitioned into the Catholic Charities Service Corps (CCSC) in 2007).
Valentine Ortiz-Meyer (04-05)
As I look back on my DSC experience, I realize that it was just the beginning of a life long search for meaning and intentionality within myself. When I began my work as a volunteer, I thought I would have everything figured out by the year end. Boy was I wrong! Although I had made a lot of personal growth in the areas of Simplicity, Spirituality, Community, and Social Justice over my volunteer year, I now realize that the work in these areas never ends. We are constantly called to learn and grow and face new challenges. Many of these challenges I never expected to face, but am so grateful that I have in that they helped me to learn invaluable lessons and create that meaning and intentionality that I searched for.
Currently, I am a graduate student at Rider University in NJ where I am completing a Masters in Counseling Services with a concentration in Community Counseling. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to continue my journey! The professors here are wonderful models of what it means to be present to others as they take time to listen to us as students and encourage our growth. I also see many of the four tenants of DSC in Rider’s program. Here, the faculty and staff focus on creating a supportive community, help us to become more self-aware and explore our spirituality, and understand issues of social justice and ethical standards. This year is particularly exciting to me in that I will be working at the college’s Counseling Center which serves the student population and provides mental health counseling services.
I think back to my year in the DSC and it feels so far away! However, the program is very close in my heart, as well as the people who I have been encouraged by over the years up until now. When I think about it, my life might have been completely different if I had never taken a year of volunteer service. I don’t think I would be the same person. I may have ended up in the same profession, but I wouldn’t have done so as intentionally, wouldn’t have known myself as well, and wouldn’t have understood how meaningful it is for me to be here. I would not give up my experience for all the money in the world because it has helped me to love what I do, who I am, and all the special people in my life.
Kim Maleno (06-07)
I am currently in Boston College working towards my MSW. Right now I'm taking group therapy and play therapy. The group therapy class involves us actually participating in a group processing session every class with our classmates. It is quite interesting to me how many people in my class (and these are all graduate students who are training to be social workers) are unwilling or afraid or too shy to share about themselves in the group setting. I have been thinking about how much the year in Buffalo helped me to become more self-aware and reflective and how useful those abilities are in my training to be a social worker. I wanted to thank you for your assistance in my development of these skills, particularly with the one-on-ones. I think this is one of those times that I may not have been as aware of the importance of self-reflection during my volunteer year, but I have come to appreciate it as I have now stepped two years out of the experience.
John McGuire (06-07)
John McGuireAfter working at my placement for one year as a paralegal, I returned to home to New Jersey and entered Immaculate Conception Seminary. What excites me about becoming a priest is serving God’s people with my whole life, bringing God’s Word to the people and not worrying that what I am saying isn’t popular, as well as forming a closer relationship with God.
I enjoy that so much time is set aside for prayer and community. We are here studying and that is important, but we enter into formation as a total person, trying to orient ourselves even more in step with the example of Jesus.
Being in the DSC put me back on the path towards Seminary. Though I didn't make my decision to be a seminarian during my year, the friendships and contacts I made through my year both helped put me in a position to know myself better when it came time to make a decision, and supported my decision. I went into the program wanting to serve God. I convinced myself the path I needed to take was going to law school or graduate school. By the end of my time in Buffalo, and with the job I got through the DSC, I knew exactly where I had to be!
Margaret Perschy (DSC 2005-2006)
My year with the Diocesan Service Corps was a powerful formation experience that has expanded my faith and widened my understanding of the world. The lessons learned in Buffalo have inspired me to make Catholic Social Teaching, simplicity, and community a greater part of my spirituality. After a year in the DSC, I returned home to Maryland and entered the job search desiring to combine my Computer Engineering degree with Catholic Social Teaching.
Unexpectedly, I came across a job that helps care for creation by reducing pollution of our natural waterways. As a Stormwater Design Engineer at CONTECH Stormwater Solutions, I assist civil engineers with stormwater treatment designs and provide engineering support for the manufacturing of our treatment products. It’s not what I studied, but it’s where I was called and is a path that I would not have considered if not for the DSC.
Living in community was filled with joys and struggles that developed my communication skills and motivated me to take hard steps beyond what was familiar. I felt mirrored by my community members and was forced to confront myself in new ways. Because of this experience I have reached new depths of relationships and am better equipped to handle conflict in a loving way.
The most important insight that I gained from my time in Buffalo is the value of listening for God’s call and trusting in God’s path. One year later, I am still processing experiences, making connections, and pursuing a more complete understanding of issues or ideas introduced during my volunteer year.
Previous Volunteer Updates:
Valentine (04-05)
Graduation from college was an exciting time, but one filled with stress and lots of questions. What would I do with my life? Where did I belong? My searching led me to Buffalo, where I would meet other volunteers who were struggling to find these answers and a community of people who supported us with love on our journey. My year of service was a time of learning and sharing, which helped me to truly appreciate and create deeper relationships with others, myself, and God. These relationships continue as I live and work back in my home town in New Jersey. I work as a Treatment Counselor for teenage girls who have been referred from the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS). In addition, I am a volunteer for Vitas, a local hospice care provider. I am also an involved member of a local Catholic parish that focuses on being an inclusive community, as well as being an advocate for social justice. The CCSC/Buffalo community have been wonderfully supportive of me as I continue on my journey and are always willing to lend a listening ear or word of encouragement. It is clear to me now that the CCSC wasn't just a year of service, it was a life-changing experience. It has challenged me to live, love, and grow. If I had to go back, knowing what I know now, I would choose it again in a heartbeat.
Bryan (05-06)
After finishing out the journey known as the "CCSC Experience" I was faced with the decision of where I was to begin a new path in life. I felt that I had two very different paths that I could choose from. I could either go home to Illinois and take a job with a corporation and gradually leave behind the experiences I had during my year of service, or I could continue to work in the Human Services field as I did in the CCSC. After job searching, I was led to a position with the Illinois Department on Aging as a Revenue Tax Specialist. I work specifically on a program called Circuit Breaker, which is for Disabled and Elderly individuals. The program is specifically for those people who live under the Federal Poverty Line. Our program helps these individuals pay their property taxes, get a discount on their vehicle license plate, and most importantly, get prescription drugs at a significantly reduced rate. Although my job is a lot of paperwork and editing the claims of individuals who filed to join the program, I also get to interact with the claimant's by working the phone unit and attempting to help every individual over 65 and disabled qualify for the program. I feel this job is an extension of the CCSC as not only am I in someway assisting the less fortunate, but I am also in a less personal way working with the Developmentally Disabled as I did with Providence Community in Buffalo. I am hoping that as I learn more about my position, I can use my experiences in Buffalo to improve the agency's services and work for justice. Hopefully, my experiences in the CCSC will translate to results that someday may just benefit the 12.5 million people who I serve as an employee of the State of Illinois.
Ken (02-03)
KenI originally embarked on the Diocesan Service Corps (CCSC) to fulfill a desire to serve the less fortunate. I felt a sense of gratitude and joy participating in the Habitat-for-Humanity spring break trip to Appalachia offered by Canisius College and I wanted to continue that mission of service. Volunteering with the CCSC and working for Catholic Charities was not what I originally anticipated. I was stunned at the level of need and the oppression of the poor, disabled and the elderly. I reflected the condition of living that my clients experienced and it initiated my desire to learn the principles of social justice. My community members helped me develop a new passion and I left that year filled with God's confidence, love, enthusiasm, joy and perseverance. The CCSC influenced me to continue God's mission for me to volunteer with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Philadelphia. I find it difficult to envision who I would be without the involvement of the CCSC and the lives that left an impression on me, especially my community members. I credit the CCSC for helping me to develop newfound qualities, values, principles, pursuits and passions that I possess to this day.
I currently work at the Philadelphia Unemployment Project as a housing counselor offering counseling, advocacy or organizing services for people who are threatened to lose their house to foreclosure or eviction. I love participating in PUP's service to our clients and the community. While living in Philadelphia, I have been a part of my church's adult committee and the service & justice committee for young adults. I plan to educate the congregation on the foundations of Catholic social teaching, hopefully with the same impact the CCSC provided for me. This past summer I coordinated a faith and fitness program to help members experience God's presence through physical activity. For my future, I am considering enrolling in the Master's of Social Justice Program at Loyola University in Chicago. Naturally I have the CCSC to thank for this journey filled with passion and excitement.
Maggie (04-05)
After completing my year of volunteer service with the CCSC, I was inspired to continue to do long-term volunteer service as a Passionist Volunteer in Jamaica, West Indies. In Jamaica, I teach reading and visit with the sick and poor in rural communities. My work in Jamaica is similar to the work I did with the CCSC not only because it is volunteer work, but also because it is about building relationships with the people I serve. While serving with the CCSC, I learned how important and helpful it is to simply spend time with someone. As a volunteer in Jamaica, much of my ministry is about "accompaniment" with the poor - spending time listening to others and recognizing God's presence in everyone. Certainly, what I learned as a CCSC volunteer has made my experience in Jamaica much more fulfilling!
Brent (03-04)
CCSC and transformation? Those words go together pretty well I think. As per now, I am living in a small village in rural Uganda, doing some public health work with clean water, HIV, and learning loads about community-based action, and methods for supporting that effort. So what does the CCSC mean to me now in the midst of all of this... 2 years removed and a continent away? Hmmm, I have talked with many who, after such a volunteer experience, find themselves on a whole new track and end up doing something completely different than they intended. For me, I think I would have found myself living in this same village, probably doing a very similar thing... but because of the CCSC experience, I see myself and the lives of those who live with me differently- in a deeper way- than I think I would have otherwise. I actually had been to this village prior to the CCSC year. I did my thing, learned about the community, met some incredible people along the way. But after the CCSC year, with the experiential learning about the meaning of community, I was SO much more prepared to recognize the beauty that is here. My village friends helped me, in turn, to learn a bit about the essence of simplicity, and why the simple life can enrich the spirit, our sense of community, and how it connects with justice. When I returned here after the CCSC year, the awareness of the sacredness of this place and the people who dwell here was poignant and can be tearfully overwhelming.
One of the most important things I took away from the CCSC was a new respect for the church. Over the course of the program, I learned much more about Catholic Social Teaching, was able to work at Catholic Charities with dedicated and loving sisters whom I will treasure forever, and learned about contemplative prayer from a Trappist monk living in the area. I found myself a bit angry that after 10 years of Catholic school, I found myself ignorant of both of these aspects- which have now become the fundamental pillars upon which I try to base my life. I have a feeling that much of my life will be dedicated to fostering a broader awareness of these dimensions, while going ever deeper into them on a personal level. Viva la CCSC!
Megan (02-03)
When I entered the Diocesan Service Corps, I was unsure where God was leading me. I had just finished a significant chapter of my life, college at Oregon State University, I was 21 years old, and didn't know what to do next. Then I found the CCSC and was excited to embark upon a new adventure in New York. During my year of intentional community living, my outlook and goals were molded into something quite different - and new - and exciting. As my year of service came to an end, I realized that God was guiding me to social work. I was accepted into the School of Social Work at SUNY at Buffalo where I earned my MSW degree in May 2005. I have since moved back to Oregon, and have recently started a fantastic new job as an Alcohol and Drug Counselor with middle and high school students. I can directly attribute my current successes to my time in the CCSC - it offered me a safe place to grow and be challenged... to learn and strengthen my relationships with myself, others and with God. I am truly thankful for the experience of the Diocesan Service Corps.
Jaime (04-05)
JaimeThe CCSC was an experience that has helped put into a clearer picture what my life means and what I would like to do with it. The experiences of living in Community, approaching life simply, of deepening my spirituality, and of promoting social justice were concepts foreign to me in varying degrees until the program challenged what I know about these things and how I apply them to my life.
My year-long commitment to the CCSC has made a tremendous effect on who I am today. Currently, I am a graduate student in Social Work at Boston College. My experiences in social justice and spirituality is what led me to apply to a Jesuit school, and it was important for me to find a school that is active in and advocates for social justice. One experience that I am privileged to have been a part of is the School of the Americas protest. My first trip to the SOA protest was with my CCSC community last year, a memorable and informative experience. I learned about different social justice issues during that weekend, including human rights, fair trade, the death penalty, peace activism, and more. I experienced for the first time what it's like to be united with thousands of people, being a voice for the voiceless, being a representative for all those killed in war and by the graduates of the SOA in particular. The experience challenged me to step up and speak on behalf of victimized people everywhere, no matter how shaky my voice might be.
This SOA experience is only one of many that I experienced during my CCSC year, but it was the first in leading me to recognize a larger need for justice. As stated above, these experiences have cultivated values that have shaped who I am now and what I'm doing with my life. As a social work student, I'm studying clinical social work in a global practice concentration, with plans of working in humanitarian aid, social development, and capacity building through advocacy in human rights, global justice, and diversity. However, I have no doubt that I would never have come across this path had I not taken a year to live and grow in the CCSC.
The very first thing that caught my attention about the CCSC was this quote I found on the website: "This detour you've taken just may become your path..." How true this statement has become for me, and I'm not only glad that I committed myself to this program, but I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to become a part of a program and a cause that is so much bigger that I am. The values are life-changing, the experiences breathtaking, and the company along the way and thereafter are absolutely grand. I'm extremely blessed!
Christina (02-03)
After my year of intentionality within the CCSC community, I remained in Buffalo living with LaWanna following our dis-orientation days. I continued to grow in church fellowship at Christ Community Church and remained in contact with Providence Community and Ss.Columba-Brigid Montessori School. I found myself working at The Cosgrove Law Firm for a year while I sought discernment for my next step. The next step moved me to Greater Boston, Massachusetts where for the past year I have been absorbed in seminary and theological studies. Despite having moved from Buffalo, great joy remains in experiencing feeling really known by those whom I spent this year with.
These days I can be found living in an intentional Christian women's community (a community of seven of us) of which I helped co-found naturally inspired by my experiences obtained throughout the CCSC experience. I continue to attempt the four tenets in my life and truly am amazed by my ever-expanding community across the globe! My hope is to continue living a life that is intentional, relational and Christ-centered within my own sphere of influence. My vocation as a home counselor in a grass-roots group home for adolescents allots me the ability to continue to seek meaningful relationships and experiences with the young residents as well as with my colleagues. I look forward to continuing working within social services agencies as a worker who embraces children and families as well as being a vessel that embodies a sense of family, building communities in an often fragmented society.