Mission and Vision Statement
Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest responds to local community needs in the Northwest by recruiting, placing, and supporting volunteers who provide value-centered service grounded in the Jesuit Catholic tradition.
Honoring the Divine at work in all things, we envision the Northwest as a sustainable region where all live in dignity, are treated justly and equitably, and actively contribute to their own empowerment and positive change in their communities.
Core Values
Over the years, the experience of volunteers and their reflection on that experience have been distilled into four values: community, simple living, social and ecological justice, and spirituality. Jesuit Volunteers and JV EnCorps members make a commitment to strive to live out these four interconnected values during their service year.
COMMUNITY
Living in intentional community challenges us to be compassionate, vulnerable in sharing our uniqueness, and humble in learning from one another. As we recognize our need to be in community, we open ourselves to life-giving relationships and appreciate the sacredness at the heart of our interactions and interdependence.
SIMPLE LIVING
Simple living enables us to value relationships and reflection over an excess of activity and material possessions. It opens us to a more joyful way of life, clarifies our view of the world and of ourselves, and helps us better attend to our community, the earth, and those oppressed and living on the margins.
SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL JUSTICE
We work for justice by becoming more aware of how our attitudes and behaviors impact others, and by serving with people living on the margins who suffer the effects of social and ecological injustice. Together, we strive for solidarity, we work to examine and change unjust attitudes and structures we encounter, and serve to promote justice and a reverent, sustainable relationship with the earth.
SPIRITUALITY/REFLECTION
As a community rooted in Jesuit principles, we explore what it means to live committed to on-going reflection. We discern our gifts and deepest passions to inform our actions so we may fully engage our call to serve in the world.
