The Flex Jesuit Volunteer Experience
Commit to a meaningful and transformative year of service in an urban or rural locale in either Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington, or Oregon as a Flex Jesuit Volunteer AmeriCorps Member (Flex JV). Through the year, you’ll make an impact in the organization you serve as well as gain valuable skills, experience, and benefits (see below!) that come with being an AmeriCorps member.
As a Flex JV you’ll also be tapped into our larger community of volunteers and spend time engaging in our organizational values of community, simple living, social and ecological justice, spirituality and reflection.
You have your choice of hours to make it work for your life and your schedule! You can choose between serving full-time (1700 hours), three quarter time, (1200 hours), and half-time (900 hours), from September 2024 and July 2025.
Flex JVs are self-started who are willing to take ownership of the ways they choose to grow in the four core values.
Commit to a meaningful and transformative year of service in an urban or rural locale in either Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington, or Oregon as a Flex Jesuit Volunteer AmeriCorps Member (Flex JV). Through the year, you’ll make an impact in the organization you serve as well as gain valuable skills, experience, and benefits (see below!) that come with being an AmeriCorps member.
As a Flex JV you’ll also be tapped into our larger community of volunteers and spend time engaging in our organizational values of community, simple living, social and ecological justice, and spirituality/ reflection.
You have your choice of hours to make it work for your life and your schedule! You can choose between serving full-time (1700 hours), three-quarter time, (1200 hours), and half-time (900 hours), from September 2024 to July 2025.
Flex JVs are self-starters who are willing to take ownership of the ways they choose to grow in the four core values.
Who is eligible?
Requirements to be a Flex JV:
- U.S. citizen, U.S. National, or Lawful Permanent Resident
- At least 18 years old by start of the service term
- Pass criminal background checks
The Flex JV program may be for you if:
- You are married or partnered
- You have dependents
- You are a full-time or part time student
- If a full-time student, you can only participate in a half or three-quarter time service position.
- You plan to retain employment outside of AmeriCorps service
- As long as the site permits this and it doesn’t interfere with service; you can only participate in a half or three-quarter time service position.
JVC Northwest is a Jesuit, Catholic organization and volunteers across our movement represent a variety of religious traditions (or are not religious at all), express their gender and sexuality in a variety of ways, have a variety of abilities, and are diverse across other identities as well. We strive to be an organization where you can bring your full self, with all your identities, to your service and formation.
Benefits
In addition to a rewarding year of service, there are many tangible benefits that Flex JVs receive throughout their experience.
- Monthly living allowance (Full-time: $1,700/month; Three-quarter time: $1,200/month; Half-time: $900/month)
- Basic medical insurance (Full-time Flex JVs only)
- Childcare benefits (Full-time Flex JVs who qualify. View eligibility requirements here.)
- Member Assistance Program (MAP) for therapy, coaching, and other resources.
- Loan Deferment and Interest Forbearance: Loan deferment for qualified, federally backed student loans; after you successfully complete your term of service, you are eligible to have the interest incurred during service paid in full.
- Commute support (such as a bus pass); if your service requires transportation, your agency will reimburse those costs.
AmeriCorps members also receive the Segal Education Award upon successful completion of their service year. This can be used towards future tuition or to pay back qualified student loans. For the upcoming 2024-25 service year, the Education Award is $7,395. Full-time AmeriCorps Members receive the full award. Half-time and three-quarter time members receive a pro-rated amount.
Members 55+ are eligible to transfer their Education Award to a child, stepchild, grandchild, step-grandchild or foster child.
Prior to the start of service on September 9, Flex JVs will be oriented synchronously and asynchronously online. We will build community and learn about JVC Northwest, our organizational values, the logistics of being a volunteer, and other important topics related to volunteer service, including diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism. Once you are cleared to serve, these training hours count as service hours. Synchronous training will begin September 3.
Technical training specific to each Flex JV position will be administered on the ground by the partner agency during the first few weeks of service in September.
JVC Northwest is proud of our reputation for providing a strong network of support. Each Flex JV will receive individual support from:
- A Program Coordinator who visits each locale once or twice a year and supports JVs regularly throughout the year through scheduled and as-needed check-in calls for ongoing support
- An In-Locale Coordinator and other support people who are typically former JVs and members of the Jesuit community
- Two virtual retreats providing Flex JVs opportunities to connect, reflect, and deepen relationships, with additional optional retreats
- The option to connect with a former-JV mentor who shares similar identities, interests, or experiences
- Access to a directory of community members offering spiritual direction to JVs for free or at a reduced rate
- A large network of former JVs involved throughout the year and beyond
Flex JVs invest hundreds of hours during the year into developing hard and soft professional skills. This service experience with a partner agency often opens up new career networks and vocational pathways that remain available long after the end of the service year.
Being a Flex JV is a wonderful way to discern a career change or re-energize a career after taking time away from work. The skills you gain as a JV can help you discern a new path, find a sense of purpose, and build relationships that could lead to your next steps.
For those considering grad school, the practical experience gained as a Flex JV lends real world knowledge to draw upon during graduate studies. Volunteers go on to become teachers, doctors, politicians, lawyers, social workers, artists, ministers and so much more.
Many volunteers even get hired at their partner agency upon completing their service year! A year of service provides a competitive job edge in your next job search, including access to a network of over 600 Employers of National Service.
Service opportunities include:
- Community Organizing
- Disability Services
- Disaster Services
- Domestic Violence Support/Prevention
- Education
- End of Life Care
- Environmental Advocacy
- Financial Services
- Food and Hunger Assistance
- Health and Health Education
- HIV/AIDS Case Management
- Housing and Homelessness Services
- Immigration Services
- Legal Servi
Many people become Flex JVs to make a difference in the lives of others. Along the way, volunteers often discover that they are the ones being transformed by service. Being a Flex JV raises your consciousness of the poverty, oppression, and injustices facing our communities. The experience is challenging on emotional, intellectual, and spiritual levels and is often referred to by former JVs as one of the most rewarding experiences of their lives. Our volunteers transform into lifelong agents of change within their spheres of influence where they continue to work for a just and equitable future.
After their year of service, Flex JVs become part of a nationwide network of more than 8,000 Former Jesuit Volunteers (FJVs) from the Northwest, and thousands more who have served around the country. Retreats, socials, and other gatherings occur regularly, creating a close-knit FJV community. Through various city-based listservs, FJVs can meet other FJVs in their area, share job postings and resources, post about events, and locate housing opportunities with fellow FJVs. The invaluable FJV network connects and encourages service-minded individuals to remain rooted in the four values of JVC Northwest.
JVC Northwest is an AmeriCorps program, meaning that we are part of a network of over 75,000 volunteers serving across the country. Our AmeriCorps partnership comes with great benefits for our Flex JVs, including an Education Award based on how much you serve.
JVC Northwest is an AmeriCorps program, meaning that we are part of a network of over 75,000 volunteers serving across the country. Our AmeriCorps partnership comes with great benefits for our Flex JVs, including an Education Award based on how much you serve.
JVC Northwest is an AmeriCorps program, meaning that we are part of a network of over 75,000 volunteers serving across the country. Our AmeriCorps partnership comes with great benefits for our Flex JVs, including an Education Award based on how much you serve.
How can I apply?
You choose which position you apply to! It’s ok if you are not sure yet. Check out our roles or confirm the agency and title here.
The application process has two major steps:
- Fill out the online application. To complete the application, you will need a resume, and three references. You may address the questions online in writing, or if the process if more accessible to you another way, during a phone interview. You won’t have an advantage or disadvantage based on what you choose. Choose to respond in the way that will help you put your best self forward. Written responses will be able to move through the process with more efficiency.
- Interview with the appropriate partner agency.
A Year Guided by Core Values
Life as a Flex Jesuit Volunteer AmeriCorps member is rooted in our four core values of community, simple living, social and ecological justice, and spirituality/reflection. While everyone’s Flex JV year can vary greatly depending on their unique perspectives and life experiences, here are some general guidelines to what immersion in the four core values may look like:
Community
In community, we learn that our lives are interdependent, we have a responsibility to others, and we come together to support one another. We recognize that Flex JVs are likely active members of their own communities or have the desire to engage further. Serving as a Flex JV is a call to grow deeper in intentional relationship with those they are already in community with and to explore new connections through service and the JVC Northwest program. Flex JVs will thoughtfully reflect on their communities, explore the core values, and share their experiences in peer Flex JV groups.
Social & Ecological Justice
Flex JVs work for peace and justice by being aware of how attitudes and behavior affect others. Being aware urges us to change the attitudes and structures which create poverty, perpetuate oppression, and destroy ecological systems. Solidarity demands that we create change by working alongside people who suffer the effects of social and ecological injustice. We affirm the interconnectedness of life by making efforts to reduce our impact on the Earth. Flex JVs live out this value each day, many through their service placement involvement, and through practices like limiting the use of resources, being intentional about how money is spent, transportation choices, choosing to compost, staying educated, and more.
Spirituality/ Reflection
Flex JVs have a rich diversity of spiritual backgrounds and belief systems. This diversity challenges Flex JVs to practice reflective listening and conversation in order to deepen and broaden their wonder and appreciation of the myriad ways spirituality can connect us to each other and to the Earth. Flex JVs live out their spiritual values by diving deeper into reflective practices, engaging with fellow Flex JVs in spiritual activities and discussions, pursuing spiritual direction resources and by participating in two virtual retreats, with the opportunity to attend additional retreats throughout the year. The cornerstone of the JVC Northwest year is having the on-going time and space to reflect on one’s transformative service experience.
Simple Living
Simple living is an invitation to live more intentionally and to choose presence and mindfulness over the noise and clutter of a mainstream, capitalist lifestyle. Simple living allows Flex JVs to more fully connect with the communities they serve alongside and to more intently focus on relationships over objects. For some, this is a new concept that can be challenging and rewarding. Though many forms of technology have evolved in recent years from luxury to necessity, many Flex JVs choose to take a critical look at their relationship and habits with technology, and challenge themselves to be more intentional about their interactions with it.
AmeriCorps is a federal program that provides grants to organizations like JVC Northwest to help support volunteer service. 