Portland Morris ’95-96 … grateful, daily

Many former volunteer communities develop practices to stay in touch, and to encourage each other to continue to live out the values of the JV year over a long time. We are delighted to share this story of a community, 30 years after their JV Orientation, who are doing just that.

by Lisa Schunk (she/her) Portland Morris ’95-96

On each day of the week, except Saturday, the six FJV women of Portland’s Morris House can expect to receive an email with the subject heading “Today I am grateful for…” In the body of the email glimpses of the sender’s daily life are shared with the group. Almost anything you can think of—from the taste of a fresh strawberry to a visit from a favorite cousin—might be included in these short messages. Our housemate, Judy Cherichetti (Pfau), introduced us to the concept of a Gratitude Circle about ten years after our volunteer year, and we embraced it, with each of us choosing a day to email the group. 

These messages have kept us connected and helped our friendship grow over the past twenty years. We have collectively learned a bit about what it is like to summit yet another fourteener in Colorado, to help a teen improve his verbal communication, to play soccer with hearing impaired women in Cambodia, to celebrate with your child when his team wins a basketball game, to safely drive through a blizzard in a Minnesota winter, and to help a beloved pet recover from surgery. And occasionally, at the bottom of the grateful list, the sender will make a prayer request for a loved one or even for herself as she faces a challenge. All of these things—a silly moment during the day or a big worry the sender has been carrying for weeks—make us feel close to each other.  It does not matter whether we live a few hours drive or an airplane ride to the other side of the world from the woman who was grateful that day.

These days we more often refer to ourselves as the Gratitude Circle rather than former housemates. However, without JVC Northwest we never would have met. So, we are grateful to have been “ruined for life” by JVC Northwest. We are deeply grateful to have each other.

PS: We hold our other former housemates, Mike Gatti and Matt Jenkins, close to our hearts. If either of you see this story, please email outreach@jvcnorthwest.org to get in touch.

Pictured above: the 5th Gratitude Circle Reunion in June 2025

Back row (L-R): Denise Key, Lisa Schunk, Maria Montello, and Kathy Krause

Front row (L-R): Judy Cherichetti (Pfau) and Julie Cusumano