October 2014

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 28, 2014 – Thirteen recent graduates of Santa Clara University are working across the country and the world in year-long stints with Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) and Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest.

As volunteers with the two Jesuit volunteer organizations, the graduates join others who have committed working with people who struggle in underserved communities where the need is greatest, living simply and working for social change in a reflective and spiritually supportive community with other Jesuit volunteers.

Santa Clara University graduates are some of the 314 JVC volunteers serving in 60 communities across the world, and the 147 members of JVC Northwest JV/AmeriCorps members serving in 24 northwest communities.

These volunteers devote time at schools, health clinics, legal clinics, parishes, and nonprofit organizations to provide essential services, saving the entities millions of dollars annually in salary expenses. They advocate for domestic violence survivors, help with nursing in community clinics, teach and tutor in schools with Native American children, assist in shelters, and engage in many more important works.

Jesuit Volunteer Corps started in 1956 and is based on four core values: social justice, simple living, community, and spirituality. 

“The commitment of our alumni as Jesuit Volunteers reflects our deep desire for them to be men and women of solidarity,” said Lulu Santana, director of Santa Clara University Campus Ministry.  “They accepted the invitation to share their gifts and talents where there is great need, and will be stretched and transformed by the communities with whom they will live and serve.

Following is a list of SCU alumni serving in the JVC:

Volunteers with JVC:
Michael Bonino-Britsch, Fair Share Housing Development/Northgate II, Camden, N.J.
Erin Callister, Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston, Tex.
Michael Davisson, United Community Housing Coalition, Detroit, Mich.
Allison Federici, St. John the Evangelist Catholic School, Tucson, Ariz.
Melanie Lara, Akoyikoyi School, Chuuk, Micronesia
Claire Ryan, 30th St. Senior Center, San Francisco, Calif.
Dominique Troy, My Friend's Place, Los Angeles, Calif.
Naomi Villalpando, Part of the Solution (POTS), Harlem, N.Y.
Amanda Weiler, Windy City Habitat for Humanity, Chicago, Ill.

Volunteers with JVC  Northwest:
Kristine Kurtz, YMCA of Grays Harbor, Grays Harbor, Wash.
April Long, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO), HIV Services, Portland, Ore.
Claire Overholt, St Labre Indian Catholic Elementary, Ashland, Mont.
Daniel Setiady, HomePlate Youth Services, Inc., Hillsboro, Ore.

Those interested in serving in JVC can find more information at www.jesuitvolunteers.org  or www.scu.edu/campusministry/

About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121