Service to the Poor

“We need to avoid putting obstacles in the way of compassion, by seeing the poverty and suffering of the poor as a result of laziness or ignorance, by washing our hands of the problem, or by claiming helplessness in the face of it. We need to nourish the sense of compassion by feeling with the poor as deeply as we can, by seeing compassion as God’s attribute, the way God feels about the world.” -Theodore Weisner, Experiencing God in the Poor

As a VSC volunteer, you will experience full-time, dedicated work to those living in poverty, or who are marginalized, or deprived of health or access to health care, or struggling to graduate from school, or coping with economic disparities and substance abuse that place them outside on the sidewalk. Volunteers are placed in sites and given roles that allow them to work side by side with the poor.

It is not easy and volunteers are challenged to step outside of their comfort zones to create changes. Often these changes are unseen, unnoticed, unrecognized and each sign of progress can be unraveled within a matter of days by circumstances beyond their control.

But service goes beyond being thanked, or even being changed! As a volunteer, a year of service can plant the seed in a lifelong journey of compassion, or can build an already moving commitment to helping others.

 

“As for your conduct toward the poor, may you never take the attitude of merely getting the task done. You must show them affection; serving them from the heart; inquiring of them what they need; speaking to them gently and compassionately; procuring necessary help for them without being too bothersome or too eager.”

– St. Louise de Marillac