“What did one beet say to the other?” “I dunno, beats me!” ¡Hola! Salaam! Bonjour, namaste! These are words I get to use every day—with a smile and perhaps a slight bow, a handshake, or a hand over the heart—as I welcome clients into the multicultural food pantry at Nationalities Service Center (NSC). My service site is a refugee resettlement agency in the bustling center of Philadelphia. Each year, the U.S. government vets and places hundreds of immigrants in this city from every continent around the world, and NSC is one of the organizations helping them start a new life in America. It takes ..read more

I’m Sudha, and I’ve joined as a volunteer aide at the St. Boniface School in Cincinnati. I decided to become a volunteer after experiencing a significant loss in my life, which led me to feel a strong spiritual calling to help others. I wanted to provide assistance to those in need, regardless of their background, connections, or financial situation. Living and working in Cincinnati has been an incredible and unique experience for me. I’ve had the chance to become a part of a diverse community, where people of different ages, backgrounds, and perspectives come together and make it feel like ho ..read more

My name is Silvana Arevalo, and I am a Mercy Volunteer in Baltimore, MD, working at Mercy Medical Center (MMC) as a chaplain in Pastoral Care. I am not your typical volunteer; I am 38 years-old and it has been a few years since I graduated from college. Why am I doing MVC? Part of it certainly has to do with MVC’s willingness to develop and offer a service placement that fits my experience, skills, and gifts. Ultimately, however, my decision only makes sense through my relationship with God and seeking to be faithful to God’s call in my life. The whole story is for another time. For now, my tr ..read more

As seen in our Annual Report, we invite you to read more about Joe Falco’s (‘97, ’98) service placements and takeaways from his two years as a Mercy Volunteer in New Mexico and New York City: Joe’s first service placement in Santa Fe was at St. Katharine Indian School. The school was started by Mother Catherine Drexel, and it predominantly served Native American and Hispanic students. There were a lot of different tribes, pueblos, and cultural differences among the students and families. Joe learned a lot about local history and the unique intersection of cultures and colonialism. The differen ..read more

As a year-long volunteer addressing racial, economic, and social injustices, my main focus in Philadelphia and at Sanctuary Farm is advocating for social justice. To be an effective advocate I believe it is important to both educate myself on the injustices that the individuals I serve may face and then take what I have learned and act in a way that directly combats these injustices.  We recently started a book club for farm staff, volunteers, and anyone else in the community that may be interested. The book that we are currently reading is “Poverty, by America” written by Matthew Desmond ..read more

Being a member of MVC has been a unique experience. To me, the best part of my service year has been living in a new city. Having grown up in a Midwestern town of three-thousand people with one stoplight, living in Baltimore has been an eye opening experience to say the least. I am living out my big-city girl dreams, but that could only be possible with the small, close-knit feel of the MVC community. There are two volunteers in Baltimore this year, myself and Silvana. Silvana and I clicked as soon as we met at orientation. We shared a love of condiments, board games, and movies. We have enjoy ..read more

I volunteer at St. John Bosco Boys’ Orphanage, one of the service sites in Guyana. While much of my time during the week is spent working at my service site, my community member, Emily, and I try to spend our free time adventuring throughout Georgetown and participating in Guyanese culture. My favorite experience so far was when Guyana won the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), a cricket tournament throughout the Caribbean. Guyana was hosting the CPL this year so many people were excited. One of my coworkers told me that the Guyana Amazon Warriors are a good team and tend to make it to the finals ..read more

Hi, I’m Grace Sanford, a Mercy Volunteer in Cincinnati, Ohio! I’ve been journaling every day since I arrived here, and I’d love to share a glimpse of my typical day during my volunteer year. Today, my day began at 8:30 AM as my alarm went off, and sunlight flooded into my room. I like to start with reflection and prayer, reading my daily Bible passage before getting ready. I followed up with a quick Pilates workout, got dressed, and made a peanut butter bagel for breakfast. Then, I packed my lunch and headed out, fortunate that my service site, Lydia’s House, is a short walk away. Today at Lyd ..read more

(pictured from left to right: Grace, Kaitlyn, Cindy, Chris) The most enriching part of this experience can be summed up in one word: connection. I have been an integrated part of something wholesome and authentic while spending time at the Mercy Ecospirituality Center. Some of my favorite moments have been doing farm chores while the sheep wait close by for pets, having spiritual discussions with my fellow volunteers and staff, weeding outdoors completely enveloped in nature, resting indoors in a house full of history, and receiving wisdom from visitors and farming friends of the Center. Throu ..read more

Devarsh is a Mercy Volunteer serving at St Frances Cabrini Clinic in Detroit, MI. The clinic provides a holistic approach toward meeting the primary health care needs of economically disadvantaged residents of Southwest Detroit and beyond. They offer education, prevention, and treatment without charge, but with deep compassion and respect for the people they serve and their needs. His many responsibilities include greeting patients, helping them with insurance, and scheduling appointments. His reflection is an artful interpretation of his day to day interactions: It was a regular day at the cl ..read more