IVC Stories
Transformed by His Love: Jan’s Story
"Here I am in this middle-class, pretty affluent suburb. My problems have been what my children and I call 'first-world problems.' IVC put me into a different place, in community with women who I wouldn't have known otherwise. It has transformed my life. Even...
Volunteering at Catholic Distance University
Bob Thomsen, IVC volunteer from Northern Virginia, is currently assigned to Catholic Distance University (CDU) in Hamilton, Virginia. Bob has been with IVC for over 4 years and served at CDU since April 2013. CDU was founded in 1983 as the first catechetical...
Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary
Ignatian Volunteer Wanda Dean is in her fourth year serving with Catholic Charities in Richland County, Ohio. She spends most of her time there working in the food pantry—stocking shelves, initiating a food drive with 9 area high schools, and helping with food...
Love is Patient, Love is Kind
Julia and Tony Albrecht met in 1950 as students at Oberlin College in Ohio. They fell in love, and as Julia says, “although we were obviously too young to know what we were getting into, we made a life plan.” Julia packed her wedding dress and a going-away suit and...
Julia’s Story
Ignatian Volunteer Julia Albrecht is in her fourteenth year writing resumes for the unemployed and underemployed. She began at Jubilee Jobs, recognized as one of the best nonprofit organizations in DC, and has spent the last 7 years working with Catholic Charities’...
Tony’s Story
“The engagement with humanity is very powerful,” Tony Albrecht says. “My service is a gift.” Tony Albrecht has taught at the Spanish Catholic Center of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington for 10 years as an Ignatian Volunteer. He teaches basic...
“He sat there with us the whole time, waiting”
This piece was originally printed in the IVC DC/Metro Maryland/Northern VA December Corps Connector. I bought Tattoos on the Heart by Greg Boyle, S.J., this year’s book, on my Kindle. I read it on the plane to Florida for a family reunion with my sisters and...
Feeling Supported in Jail
“I’m kind of a cheerleader for them when we’re in the jail,” Bob Barry says. “In my presence and listening I hope I am making a difference in the cycle of crime and poverty, to provide a job. A job is so important to the sense of self-worth and well-being to feel...
The IVC Journey
This post, by IVC Chicago Spiritual Reflector and alum, Theresa Stanner, appeared first in IVC Chicago's Footprints Blog. I joined the Ignatian Volunteer Corps in the fall of 2002. I was excited when I was accepted as a volunteer at St. Martin de Porres House of Hope,...