Diocesan Service Corps welcomes 11 new members
By Kimberly Northem - Staff Reporter
The Diocesan Service Corps begins its fifth year of service by almost tripling its number of volunteers. Reasons for its success have been credited to an increased visibility and a well-run program.
"It takes a while to get established," said Amy Fleischauer, director of the Diocesan Service Corps. "This is what should happen to a quality program after three or four years. It should grow."
Over the five years, the program has seen an increased presence on the local college and university campuses, parish outreach, support of campus ministers and the Internet.
Volunteers can come from anywhere and aren't always local.
"Some come from right out of school," said Fleischauer. "Others have worked for several years, but with no sense of fulfillment."
Diocesan Service Corps member Kim Maleno said she wanted to volunteer since her sophomore year of college.
"I had always been involved in high school and college with volunteering," Maleno said. "I really enjoyed the opportunity to step outside of myself and give back to my community."
Maleno is a 2006 graduate of Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., and originally from Rhode Island. She does her service work as an after-care case manager at Gerard Place, a transitional shelter for homeless, single parent families and their children in Buffalo.
"I'm learning even more than I could have ever imagined," said Maleno. "I'm getting knowledge of social services in general, things specific to the homeless population as well as domestic violence, substance abuse and mental health. It's a great beginning position for someone like me who's interested in social work."
Melissa Iciek, CCSC member and native of Rockville, Md., is a graduate of LeHigh University in Bethlehem, Pa.
"I didn't like the idea of go to high school, go to college, get a job, get a house, get a husband.' I didn't want it to be like an assembly line," said Iciek. "I don't want to do something simply because other people are doing it. I want to see why it's a good idea. What I saw at the end of the year that was a good idea, was volunteering."
Iciek serves as a tutor at Literacy Volunteers. She tutors reading and English as a second language.
Volunteering doesn't always mean acceptance into the program.
"It is a very intense interview process," Fleischauer said. "The application process is designed to reflect whether this is a match for them. It's not about being accepted or rejected, it's about working together to find a match."
The process itself takes about four to six weeks. Applicants are asked to write five essays, provide letters of recommendation and transcripts and participate in several phone interviews.
Kelly Grace graduated from St. Joseph University in Philadelphia.
"I came across the Diocesan Service Corps Web site, talked to Amy, applied and here I am," said Grace, who does her service work at Our Lady of Black Rock School. "I serve as the health teacher and the family ties coordinator which entails setting up different programs concerned with health issues, financial management and communication skills between children and their parents."
Applicants must also exhibit a commitment to spiritual growth, a desire to explore and challenge their personal beliefs and an openness to the values of others.
"I don't judge their motivations or where they're coming from, as long as they are willing to commit to our four pillars, community living, simplicity, spirituality growth and social justice," Fleischauer said. "I think you find out throughout the year why you come."
Rowena Hernandez serves as a teacher's aide at the SS. Columba-Brigid Montessori School in Buffalo. She was raised in Vallejo, Calif., and is a 2005 graduate of Sacramento State University.
"I found the description of the CCSC to be very interesting," Hernandez said. "It touched on a lot of things that I wanted as my first job experience. I wasn't interested in making money, I wanted something that would help me grow spiritually."
Da'Niel Rowan graduated two years ago from St. Mary College in San Francisco and was doing administrative work in an office when she knew it wasn't fulfilling her.
"After going through the interview process and finding out what it (CCSC) was all about, I definitely knew that it was going to be the type of thing I wanted to do," Rowan said.
Rowan is considering law school and has been placed at the International Institute, a legal office here in Buffalo that deals in immigration law.
"I had been looking for something different to do," Rowan said. "They had a legal opportunity and I felt that I was giving a year of service, but not giving up on my goals. I was staying focused and everything just kind of fell into place. It gave me another year and another avenue to make sure that law was actually what I wanted to do."
When it comes to placing the volunteers in an agency, they are asked to choose what agency they would like to work in.
"We want a variety of populations to work in," Fleischauer said. "Such as institutional racism, poverty, populations the Catholic Church hasn't always served." Examples of service areas include emergency shelters, domestic violence, homelessness, services to the elderly and many more.
CCSC member Matt Carhart, comes from New Hartford and is a graduate of Columbia University in New York. His attraction to public interest law helped place him at Neighborhood Legal Services, where he serves on the homeless taskforce.
"Usually when you get out of college and go to work in a law firm, you're kind of stuck doing paperwork and making copies," said Carhart. "But here, I'm interacting with clients everyday and I work closely with the lawyers, advocating on the clients behalf. Its much more hands on."
Carhart also works at the Social Services Department one day a week and does client outreach at two different shelters.
"I don't know if I would have been able to find this kind of legal aid work through another volunteer agency," Carhart said. "Especially in combination with the religious Catholic aspect which also interests me."
The number of volunteers is not only limited by the number of participating agencies but also by the number of beds available. The original house in Black Rock has served up to four or five members in the past. This year, Canisius College donated the use of one of its off-campus houses allowing additional members to be accepted.
The volunteers are separated into two groups and live separately, but they join together for retreats and other functions. They are given a small monthly stipend to live on, along with a bus pass and health insurance.
Volunteers will spend the first three months talking about transition.
"We ask them to leave their cell phones, computers, cars and iPods at home," Fleischauer said. "They're also asked to live with people they don't know and to pray with people they don't know. That's a real challenge."
Community life for the volunteers can be difficult at times.
"It's challenging sometimes when you put five people with different backgrounds in a house together," said Maleno. "A lot of the first month was spent learning about one another and how to live together in somewhat of a harmonious manner."
"Community livings not as bad as I thought it would be," said Hernandez. "We always come together, eat together, pray together, go to church. I think the spirituality nights and other events really bring us together."
Once the program has ended, the volunteers have a decision to make.
"We support them in what they do next," Fleischauer said. "Some go on to join other programs both nationally and internationally. Part of our evaluation of the program is the process in which the volunteers go through to decide what they want to do."
For more information on the Diocesan Service Corp contact Amy Fleischauer at 716-847-8384, email AFleischauer@buffalodiocese.org or on the Web at www.buffalodiocese.org/CCSC/
Western New York Catholic - November 2006