Not your average volunteer organization

Syracuse retirees, empty nesters live out Ignatian heritage as IVC service corps members

Many Catholics are familiar with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, or JVC, an organization aimed to involve recent college graduates in volunteer work. Not as well-known, perhaps, is the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, or IVC, which instead helps connect retirees, empty-nesters, or anyone over the age of 50 with meaningful, spiritually guided volunteering in their communities. Jane Brown, director of the Syracuse chapter of the national organization, said that IVC was started a little over 30 years ago by two Jesuits.

“[IVC] is about helping [people] find their purpose in the next chapter of their life,” Brown said. “At the same time, we’re addressing the needs of nonprofits in our communities: serving the poor and being able to bring service corps members’ professional skills in many instances to nonprofits during a time when nonprofits are really stretched in terms of being able to afford staff members.”

When an interested individual reaches out to IVC, Brown serves as a “matchmaker” between the person and potential nonprofits looking for help. In return for the volunteer’s assistance, nonprofits are only asked to pay a small stipend that helps support IVC’s programs. Brown said she tries to ensure the individual’s skills and passions align with the type of work the nonprofit is seeking.

“I put a lot of effort into making sure that the match is good for both the service corps member, or the volunteer, and the agency we’re working with,” she said. The time commitment for IVC is about eight hours per week, during the months of September through June. Brown also said there are virtual opportunities if service corps members prefer that type of setting, or if they need more flexibility during the year.

What’s it like being an IVC service corps member?

Both Jim Mulder and Steve Hodgens retired from decades-long careers in journalism — Mulder was a reporter for The Post Standard for 45 years, and Hodgens worked in marketing for the same newspaper and Syracuse.com for 42 years. Mulder graduated from Marquette University, a Jesuit school, and has always been interested in Ignatian spirituality. IVC seemed like a great opportunity, and he was placed in a service assignment at the Samaritan Center in Syracuse.

“I do everything from wipe tables [and] mop floors [to help] guests fill out forms for apartments or to get recertified for Medicaid or food stamps,” said Mulder, who usually volunteers three days per week. “But what I usually do every time I work a shift is I greet the guests as they come in, and I’ve become friends with tons of these folks, and I call them by name, and they know me, and so it’s been a great experience for me. Jesus said, you know, ‘Love and feed and clothe the poor and the marginalized’. And the great thing about the Samaritan Center [is] the staff there and the volunteers live out that Gospel message 365 days a year. So for me, it’s been a privilege being part of that, and you know, I think at the end of the day I get a lot more out of it than I put in.”

Hodgens also graduated from a Jesuit school — a high school in Boston — and he was looking for ways in his retirement to help build his community and his faith. Through IVC, he volunteers at Cathedral Emergency Services (CES) in downtown Syracuse one or two days per week, helping out with various tasks so the professional staff can spend more time working directly with clients. A highlight of his work has been “seeing the CES team respond with so much care and expertise to people who are often having their very worst day.”

A community centered on faith

A unique aspect of IVC that both Mulder and Hodgens highlighted is how the organization helps build community among their service corps members while continually offering opportunities for spiritual formation. The Syracuse chapter holds monthly meetings with its volunteers, during which they discuss chapters of a book they read during the year, and reflect on how they see God in the work they’re doing in their placements. They also have the option to work one-on-one with a spiritual director, and are invited to IVC’s yearly retreat, which recently took place in early June.

“I’d say what I really love about the setup with IVC is having that spiritual component. … I’ve done volunteer work on and off my entire life, but I never worked in a volunteer capacity where there was also a spiritual component like there is when you’re doing this through IVC,” shared Mulder. “We recently had an annual retreat, and except for a couple of months in the summer, we meet every month, and we have discussions and presentations, and it’s just great, so that you’re meeting with other folks and sharing your experiences.”

Hodgens said this past year’s book was a highlight for him. “I’m surprised how often the book we’re reading together or a comment from another IVC member really connects with the service work,” he said. “I often greet people at the door of CES, which can seem inconsequential. This year’s reading, Cherished Belonging, by Father Greg Boyle, S.J., talks about greetings as a form of prayer. That helped me see how time spent helping to build my community can also be time spent building my faith.”

A win-win opportunity for nonprofits

Tom Andino, member of the Syracuse IVC advisory council and co-leader of the recent retreat alongside Father Jason Downer, S.J., shared how discussions at the retreat help service corps members process and reflect on the past year’s work.

“For many people in the world that we live in, which is so fast-paced, we don’t often take time to look in the rearview mirror. We spend so much time looking through the windshield at what’s next. … And so you get caught up in that wheel, that cycle,” Andino said. “But in my experience, you don’t really make sense of what’s happening outside the windshield until you give yourself permission to look in the rearview mirror and take some time to see the patterns, to see what stirred within you. Where were you excited? Where did you light up? What really drained you? Do you need a change in service sites? Do you need a way to do things differently? Were you totally energized? Did you feel overwhelmed by times where you felt like ‘I wish I could do more’? Just [sitting] with those questions [is important], because then that helps you to move forward and puts you in dialogue with other people.”

Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Syracuse Diocese, Dr. Amy Sansone, has worked with two IVC volunteers for the Catholic Schools Office (CSO) since she came to the diocese three years ago. She also emphasized the unique nature of IVC when compared to other volunteer organizations.

“I love this program, ever since I became acquainted. Because there’re so many volunteer programs, you know? I’ve never known one [like IVC] that has the spiritual component and the formation,” she said.

One of the IVC service corps members she oversees works directly with students in one of the Catholic schools. The other volunteer, a retired vice principal of a Catholic high school, helps with various tasks in the CSO, from updating teacher and student handbooks to monitoring office documents for accuracy and quality, to analyzing feedback data from teachers after professional development days.

“We have a variety of tasks we do here, and in every way, shape, and form for the schools, so it’s always changing,” said Sansone. “We’ve had this volunteer for over three years now, and it’s just been a great fit, because [she] will help out with anything and everything.”

Father Don Kirby, S.J., professor of Christian Ethics and Moral Theology in the Religious Studies department at Le Moyne College and long-time IVC advisory council member, echoed Sansone’s sentiments about how much value the IVC service corps members bring to the nonprofits where they’re placed.

“What an asset for a nonprofit to get one of these people,” said Fr. Kirby. “[Jane] places them well. For instance, I know one of the fellows who [volunteers], he was the controller for a Fortune 500 company, and he has really reworked the books of a number of the major nonprofits in the area. … For a nonprofit, once they discover this, it’s a win-win, and they’re getting a really rich package.”

Brown said she’s grateful for all the support she receives from Le Moyne College and the Jesuit community, and shared that the Syracuse IVC chapter is poised for a moment of growth: she’s on the lookout for more service corps members and nonprofits that want to partner with IVC and further the organization’s mission.

“The service corps members are such a lovely group of people,” said Brown. “Every time that I meet with them each month, I just think, like, wow. In a world where there’s a lot of chaos right now, these people give me hope.”

For more information about IVC, visit ivcusa.org. If you’re interested in getting involved with the Syracuse chapter of IVC, reach out to Jane Brown at [email protected].