Jesuit Volunteer Corps

alumni feature

Board Member AnnMaura is a Champion of Service

By AnnMaura Connelly

(Santa Ana 1986-87)

Annmaura Connolly JVC Board Member

Since my year as a Jesuit Volunteer, I have spent my career working toward the goal of making a year of service a common expectation and experience of every young person.  From helping to develop a national service policy for the country to protecting the federal investment in national service, to developing national service programs in two other countries, I have had the opportunity to work on an idea that is so important to me–the idea that a year of service can be a transformational experience for those who serve and those who are served. 

My JV experience is the foundation for all of my work. It helped me understand that proximity is critical if you want to work for justice.  Service is not a one-way proposition.  Seeking understanding is critical to making change.  Challenging yourself to be open to different ways of thinking and different perspectives is essential to advancing your work and to developing as a leader.

The opportunity to connect with the people I served as a JV helped me understand suffering and grief in a totally different way. It also helped me understand how resilient people are–and how joy can be found even amidst great pain.  Since JVC I have learned that open-mindedness and a willingness to listen are critical to our ability to succeed in the quest for justice.  

JVC has a rich history of the power of service to heal people and communities.  Our country and the world need a lot of healing. I believe JVC will continue to be  beacon of light because we offer passionate young people the opportunity to be of vital service, to develop their faith and to create a more just and hopeful world.

STORIES

  • fjv, alumni feature, love stories

    "Living in a community of parallels, marred by trauma, supported by deep love, helped us recognize how much responsibility we carry in this world as stewards of social justice."

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  • fjv, alumni feature, love stories

    "We credit JVC for giving us a strong foundation for our relationship and the values that we are actively passing on to the next generation of F(uture) Jesuit Volunteers."

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  • fjv, alumni feature, love stories

    "The four values of JVC, simple living, social justice, community, and spirituality have been infused in our relationship and marriage, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. We are at our best when we are surrounded and supported by community; the best and worst moments of our relationship have been made better when shared with the people we love."

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  • fjv, alumni feature, love stories, international program

    "JVC showed us how to care for each other more in radical ways, in more soulful ways. Together, we still ask the questions. How can we live in this world that is always demanding so much of us with a sense of abundance rather than depletion? How do we exist in a community with a sense of all of us belonging to each other?"

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  • fjv, community, love stories, alumni feature

    "JVC taught us to communicate openly and clearly with each other and we still use some of the things we learned in Milwaukee to make our big emotional decisions."

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