This year will mark the 10th year that JVC Northwest gathers current and former JVs and JVEs, Jesuits, staff, friends, and family to recognize and celebrate the service that our volunteers provide at our annual Seattle Event. Read on to learn about what this event entails and how you can help make it a success.
The History: Ten years ago marked the first time that the JVC Northwest community gathered to celebrate and fundraise for the life-giving service of the Jesuit Volunteers. That first event took place at St. Bridget Catholic church in Seattle and was organized by a passionate group of local former JVs along with JVC Northwest’s diminutive staff. With Fr. Jack Morris, SJ leading the event there was laughter, joy, and a sense of revitalized community that permeated the room. It was the 50th anniversary of the JVC movement that spurred the creation of this wonderful tradition, and as JVC Northwest begins preparation for the celebration of its 60th anniversary in 2016 we hope to channel some of that same magic for the tenth Seattle Event.
The 2015 Event: This year’s event will take place on May 30th, 2015 at Seattle Universtiy’s Campion Ballroom. The evening will begin with a Mass from Fr. John Whitney, SJ, who also presided at our second annual Seattle Event all the way back in 2007. Following Mass will be a social hour, dinner, and evening program, which will include music, 
reflections from a current Jesuit Volunteer and Jesuit Volunteer EnCorps participant, and a representative from one of our Seattle partner agencies, as well as the presentation of the Fr. Jack Morris, SJ Award, and raffle. A link to pictures from last year’s event can be found here.
As many of our supporters know, Fr. Jack Morris, SJ was a co-founder of the JVC movement and passed away in September of 2012. Fr. Jack served as a priest, teacher, and friend to thousands of Jesuit Volunteers, staff members, friends of JVC Northwest, and Jesuit brothers, and in 2013 an award was created in his honor, given away each year near the conclusion of the Seattle Event. The award honors a member of the JVC Northwest family who has exhibited the values of social and ecological justice, simple living, community, and spirituality throughout their life. More information about the award can be found on the nomination form here. We encourage you to take the time to nominate a worthy candidate for this year’s award.
How You Can Help: Aside from nominating a worthy individual for the Fr. Jack Morris, SJ Award, there are several ways you can help make this year’s event a success.
- Do you have connections to potential raffle items such as event tickets, hotel stays, food and drink, or cool gear? Multiple items are typically assembled into 3-4 unique packages and we are always looking for interesting new pieces to spice up our raffle.
- If acquiring raffle items isn’t your strong suit then perhaps decorations are more your style. Looking at the Save the Date above and thinking about the “Companions in Service” theme, do any particular decorative items or color schemes come to mind?
- Lastly, the event usually contains an entertainment piece, whether that be instrumental or voice (or both!) performance and we are open to suggestions from the FJV and broader JVC Northwest community.
Please contact Zach Reuter, Outreach and Events Coordinator, at outreach@jvcnorthwest.org if you have ideas or interest in assisting with any of these pieces of the event.
The most important contribution you can make, however, is your presence. In the feedback we receive each year on the event, attendees always identify the strong feel of community and authentic relationship as the most memorable and important aspect of the event, and we want to share that once again with you. Whether you’ve come for a decade straight or 2015 will mark your first year, we hope to see you May 3oth!
