Holy Cross Alumni Dedicate a Year of Service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps

Fifteen recent graduates from the College of the Holy Cross have dedicated themselves to a year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. Over the course of the year, the volunteers will serve hundreds of thousands of people while addressing issues such as hunger and homelessness, poverty, domestic violence, end-of-life care, mental health, and food justice.

JVC has recruited 13 volunteers from Holy Cross and JVC Northwest, which operates independently, recruited an additional two volunteers. Holy Cross graduates have a long history of volunteering with these programs: in 2015, 10 volunteers joined JVC and four joined JVC Northwest; in 2014, 18 volunteers joined JVC and 13 joined JVC Northwest; in 2013, 11 volunteers joined JVC and three joined JVC Northwest.

Jesuit volunteers work at schools, health clinics, legal clinics, parishes, domestic violence shelters and non-profit organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Those working in the Northwest also teach in schools on Native American reservations.

Rooted in the core values of social and ecological justice, simple living, community, and spirituality, the JVC and JVC Northwest programs give young men and women the chance to work full-time for justice and peace. Participants serve for one or two years, during which time they live among the poor and marginalized, and strive for social justice within these environments.

Holy Cross graduates are some of the 148 JVC Northwest JV/AmeriCorps members serving in 25 Northwest communities, and 283 Jesuit Volunteers from JVC serving in 50 communities across the world.

The following Holy Cross graduates are currently serving as Jesuit volunteers:

• Linnea Brandt ’16—Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project in Portland, Maine • Karla Burns ‘16—Parroquia San Pedro in Andahuaylillas, Peru • Brendan Collins ‘16—Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas • Emily Conn ‘16— Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose, Calif. • Alec Gubics ‘16— Taller de Jose in Chicago, Ill. • Bridget Hager ‘16 —Recovery Cafe San Jose in San Jose, Calif. • Emily Muldoon ‘16—Centro Altagracia de Fe y Justicia in New York City, N.Y. • Sean O'Rourke ‘16—Community Family Centers in Houston, Texas • Cecelia Plaehn ‘16— Open Door Mission Foundation in Houston, Texas • Caitlin Powers ‘16—St. Francis Center in Los Angeles, Calif. • Emma Sikes ‘16—United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio • Amanda Snow ‘16—United Neighborhood Centers of NE PA in Scranton, Pa. • Kailey Verni ‘16— OPCC/ Daybreak in Los Angeles, Calif.

The following graduates serve as Jesuit volunteers in the Northwest:

• Sara Brisson ’16 —Community House Mental Health Agency in Seattle, Wash. • Anthony Yakely ‘16—Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association in Anchorage, Ark.