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Celebrating Over 20 Years of Partnership with Playworks Boston

By Playworks Boston

(Boston, MA)

Jesuit Volunteer Dani Hargus (Boston 2017-18)

Jesuit Volunteers provide high-quality and compassionate service to the children, individuals and families on the margins that comprise the client base of our agency partners. And our volunteers bring with them an openness and care for all people as they fulfill on the mission of their agencies.

Playworks, an agency partner located in Boston, MA said, “The largest benefit of partnering with JVC is identifying like-minded young adults who are committed to service and helping the children we serve.”

As a long-term partner for almost 20 years, Playworks utilizes our Jesuit Volunteers to expand their impact within low-income urban schools across the country. According to Playworks, “Some of our best program coordinators, or coaches, have been Jesuit Volunteer Corps members committed to serving their community and providing hope to hundreds of children.”

Before starting her year, current JV, Dani Hargus, shared that she can quote any line from the movie Finding Nemo and was planning to use this skill while serving as a Coach for Playworks. The joy, excitement and commitment to play as a way to bring about hope is why Dani, like many other JVs before her are so well suited for this type of service.

After graduating from Boston College, where she had a transformative week-long service trip in Huntington, West Virginia, she realized she needed to search for more methods to connect with others in a deeply human and compassionate way. She found her way to JVC and Playworks, where she could deepen her human connection.

Dani shared, “Social justice convinces me that there is something more beyond each individual, a force driving us to Agapic love. Service has inspired me to chase social justice through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Poverty cannot be healed in a day, but to build upon the foundation of service and human connection has the power to steadily light up this world.”

Our agency partners can be confident that our volunteers are ready to build relationships and contribute to their mission on day one. Jesuit Volunteers contribute through love, through compassion, and through a desire to reach a higher level of understanding.

The staff at Playworks agrees, “Playworks and JVC have similar values and missions. Specifically, Playworks’ core values of healthy play, healthy community, respect and inclusion align with JVC’s core values of simple lifestyle, community and social justice. Play is a fundamental right for every child and it helps build communities where children feel safe, included and ready to learn.”

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"JVs have brought a spirit and energy to Notre Dame that makes them incredibly willing to be flexible on the job and to support the school in many diverse ways."

LEARN MORE ABOUT MARIE'S ROLE AT NOTRE DAME SCHOOL
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"The other staff at our office rely on the Jesuit Volunteer to provide compassionate and competent services to our clients."

LEARN MORE ABOUT BRIANA'S IMPACT
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"The largest benefit of partnering with JVC is identifying like-minded young adults who are committed to service and helping the children we serve."

LEARN MORE ABOUT DANI'S ROLE AT PLAYWORKS
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"JVs are an immense help. It takes energy and drive, intellectual giftedness, positivity, and the ability to believe fervently in a cause, to be an effective part of the Project Return effort."

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR AGENCY PARTNERS
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"When I started my JV year, Ralph was the director of the Center, working on community outreach, joblessness, and youth programming. When he and I began looking for a summer camp idea during my JVC year, teaching peace seemed to be the most logical idea to both of us."

LEARN MORE ABOUT NAWAL'S EXPERIENCE AS A NON-PROFIT CO-FOUNDER

Celebrating Over 20 Years of Partnership with Playworks Boston

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