This fall, four Bi-Co graduates from the class of 2016 have joined Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS) on a quest to deepen their spirituality and prepare for a life of service.
Haverford graduates Damon Motz-Storey, Adriana Cvitkovic, Elise Riley, and Bryn Mawr graduate Kayla Schneider-Smith will spend their year living with other QVS Fellows and serving the greater community through their work with local non-profits.
The Quaker Voluntary Service program centers around principles of community, service, transformation, and the Quaker way. The program aims to provide young adults with a space in which they can redefine for themselves what it means to live into their spirituality and engage in Quaker service in today’s society. The program remains loyal to the Quaker tradition of service, providing participants with the opportunity to engage in service work that serves underrepresented individuals in the greater community. As well as engaging in service work and living in community with one another in a shared living space, participants continually nurture their spirituality through weekly worship with each other as well as with local Quaker faith communities and are encouraged to reflect on their deeply-held values in the vein of overall transformation and growth.
Quaker Voluntary Service was launched in the fall of 2012 with one QVS house in Atlanta. The program has since grown to include houses in Philadelphia, Boston, and Portland. Damon, Adriana, and Kayla are living and working at the Portland QVS location and Elise resides at the Atlanta location. All have exciting service prospects ahead. Damon is working with Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, an organization that works to protect human lives against nuclear threats, violent conflict, and environmental catastrophe. Adriana is working with Impact NW where she helps to prepare the curricula for an after school science program that serves underfunded Portland public elementary schools in impoverished districts. Kayla is working with New City Initiative, an organization that aims to end the cycle of homelessness through faith community involvement. Elise is working at Frazer Center, a community organization that supports inclusivity as an avenue for fostering many kinds of necessary learning and social interactions among those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Congratulations to these four Bi-Co graduates, and best wishes for the year ahead!
Hear what the QVS participants have to say about the experience...
"I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to delve into service work holistically, considering not only the economic and social factors that influence inequality but also the spiritual toll that trauma and injustice take on all humanity. It is primarily through building supportive relationships and community that we can hold each other accountable in rebuilding our country and our world." —Kayla Schneider-Smith
"QVS is an incredible opportunity for me to dive into intentional community and discerning spirituality while working in a dream job. My placement is with an organization advocating for peace and environmental justice on a day-to-day personal level as well as a political lobbying level. My housemates and the local Quaker communities supporting us are challenging me to become more authentic and live fully into service and faith. I cannot imagine a better place for me to transition from college life at Haverford into the broader world." —Damon Motz-Storey
