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Volunteer Corps
Frequently Asked Questions
If
you have additional inquiries about WVC, please e-mail them to volcorps@westmorelanducc.org.
How is WVC governed and funded?
Where do volunteers live?
What is intentional community?
What is WVC?
Where do volunteers work?
Do volunteers have to be
American citizens?
How and when do volunteers
apply?
How long is the WVC commitment?
When does it start?
Can student loans be deferred?
What are the financial
arrangements? Do volunteers get paid?
How is WVC
governed and funded?
WVC is managed by a volunteer board of 12 active church members who
serve as mentors and advisors to the volunteers. The WVC board develops
and manages budgets, sets policies, hires the community counselor,
evaluates procedures, and carries out the screening and selection of
volunteers. The board is a subcommittee of Westmoreland's Board of
Community Action, which is devoted to increasing the church's social
service commitment through grants, advocacy, and volunteer
opportunities.
The WVC has several sources of support. The host agencies for each
year's volunteers provide support. The Westmoreland Congregational
United Church of Christ provides convenient housing at a favorable
rate. WVC board members, other individuals, and private fund-raising
activities are a third source of funding.
Where
do volunteers live? What is intentional community?
Volunteers live in a former
parsonage in Bethesda, MD with easy access to public transportation
(bus and Metro). Volunteers share cooking and household chores but have
individual bedrooms in the furnished house. Community meetings are
expected one evening each week and are facilitated by the community
counselor, who provides support for community living, spiritual growth,
adaptation to new and sometimes stressful work environments, and
assistance with planning the three retreats.
What
is WVC?
The Westmoreland Volunteer Corps (WVC) is a one-year domestic volunteer
service program. It offers five young adults, typically recent college
graduates, opportunities to work in direct social service through
internships with Washington area service agencies. Individual spiritual
growth is encouraged as volunteers share a simple lifestyle in an
intentional community.
WVC was founded in Bethesda, MD, by Westmoreland Congregational United
Church of Christ in 1985 as an extension of the church's statement of
purpose: "Our ideal is a church of the open mind, the aspiring soul,
and the social vision, which ever seeks to express, in all ways of
life, the mind and spirit of Jesus . . . and to labor together for the
betterment of humankind . . ." Since its beginning, the Westmoreland
Volunteer Corps has placed 100 volunteers in a wide variety of social
service agencies.
Where
do volunteers work?
Jobs are available in 25 to 30 Washington area agencies each year.
Areas of work include: AIDS ministry, disadvantaged youth, elderly
support and outreach, employment counseling and job search, health
clinics and maternal/child health care, homeless service agencies and
shelters, refugee support, social justice and advocacy. Service
placements are located in the greater Washington, DC area, which
includes nearby Maryland suburbs and Northern Virginia. Bilingual
placements are possible.
WVC works with the applicant's preferences; however, applicants need to
be flexible about going where they are needed. To finalize a placement,
the volunteer must choose the agency, and the agency must choose the
volunteer. Volunteer jobs are full-time.
Do
volunteers have to be American citizens?
No. They do, however, need to be able to independently obtain a work
visa.
How
and when do volunteers apply?
Volunteer applications for the upcoming year can be downloaded from
WVC's website or obtained through the WVC recruitment chair.
Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis, beginning in February.
In order to have the widest variety of agencies available, it is best
to apply early. Applications are received and reviewed by the WVC board.
Candidates are then contacted for a telephone interview, followed by a
possible visit. Finalists spend 2 nights in the Washington, DC area -
one as a guest of a WVC board member, and the other at the Volunteer
House. Travel expenses up to $200 are reimbursed. During visits,
meetings are scheduled with potential agencies, WVC board members,
current volunteers, Westmoreland Church's minister, and WVC's community
counselor.
Final acceptance and agency placement follows each visit, generally
within 2 weeks.
How
long is the WVC commitment? When does it start?
WVC requires a one-year commitment. All volunteers arrive the Friday of
Labor Day weekend to move into the Volunteer House, get to know one
another and their community counselor, and participate in orientation
activities. Work begins the day after Labor Day. A welcoming service at
Westmoreland Church is held in mid-September. Volunteers are committed
to WVC and their placements until the middle of the following August.
Can
student loans be deferred?
Federally guaranteed student loans typically can be deferred for the
Westmoreland Volunteer Corps. Check with your university and/or lending
institution to confirm eligibility and to obtain the appropriate forms.
Volunteers may also be eligible for loan forgiveness and educational awards through
AmeriCorps*, depending on availability of funds through the Federal
appropriations process.
*Programs that offer AmeriCorps Education Awards may not require
members to be of any faith or religion, or to participate in inherently
religious activities. If an individual chooses to participate in
religious activities separately from the AmeriCorps Education Awards
Program (AEAP), any such time is not counted toward completing an
AmeriCorps term of service. Any participation in a religious activity
is voluntary.
What
are the financial arrangements? Do volunteers get paid?
Agencies where volunteers work provide a fixed stipend from which the
volunteers pay a fee for housing and utilities. Agencies also cover
transportation to and from work (usually with a bus/Metro pass) and
provide medical insurance or reimburse Westmoreland for it. Volunteers
are reimbursed up to $200 for travel for interviews to Washington, DC,
and for one trip home during the year. WVC provides funds for
transportation to and from the three retreats during the year.
Volunteers find the living allowance adequate to cover their needs.
Volunteers who complete a term of service may also be eligible to
receive an educational award
through AmeriCorps*, depending on the status of its federal funding.
*Programs that offer AmeriCorps Education Awards may not require
members to be of any faith or religion, or to participate in inherently
religious activities. If an individual chooses to participate in
religious activities separately from the AmeriCorps Education Awards
Program (AEAP), any such time is not counted toward completing an
AmeriCorps term of service. Any participation in a religious activity
is voluntary.
Last updated Friday,
February 15, 2008
1
Westmoreland Circle
Bethesda, MD 20816
301-229-7766
Email the church office: churchinfo@westmorelanducc.org
www.westmorelanducc.org
An
Open and Affirming Congregation
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