Quaker Voluntary Service

Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS) seeks a part-time (20 hrs/week) Communications Coordinator to generate and coordinate all national communications. You would be a great fit for this job if you have exceptional written, visual, and verbal communication skills, and are able to prioritize and multitask. You should be able to see the big picture and have a willingness to pitch in and do what needs to be done, including small administrative tasks. You will be joining an amazing and dedicated team of people who are passionate about social justice and spirituality. QVS is a collaborative and relational environment where your coworkers are committed to your success. Our community is diverse in age, race, gender identity, and sexuality, and we believe that multicultural relationships are essential to our work. Though this is a remote position, you will have several opportunities per year to gather in person with other staff members. This is a highly flexible position; other than scheduled meetings, you can determine your schedule in consultation with the Executive Director. How to Apply: Email a cover letter, resume, and up to five portfolio items, to Hilary Burgin, QVS Executive Director, at [email protected]. Interviews will be scheduled on a rolling basis as applications arrive, with priority given to applications received before Monday, December 2, 2024. Following two rounds of interviews, we will conduct reference checks for the final two candidates. Desired start date is January 2, 2025, but can be flexible for the right candidate. Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/e4fWkCd

QVS Executive Director Hilary Burgin is taking a sabbatical this summer! She says: I will be away from Quaker Voluntary Service work May 17 to August 19. I’m excited to know I’ll be back in time for National Orientation with the incoming Fellows (taking place at Pendle Hill) and to start the program year with them. (We’ll start announcing incoming Fellows in June!) I have served with Quaker Voluntary Service for nine and a half years. I started my work as Boston City Coordinator in January 2015 and I became the Executive Director in October 2018. I can't tell you how meaningful it is to get to work with QVS staff, volunteers, Friends, Fellows, and Alums. The Board offered me the opportunity to take a sabbatical, and I am grateful to be able to say yes. As the servant leader of an organization it is important to remember: 1) rest is vital and 2) the team of people I work with is eminently capable of steering QVS through a season. I’m looking forward to using my brain, heart, and body for projects outside of my work with Quaker Voluntary Service. I’ll continue participating in the Quakers Uprooting Racism cohort. I’m excited by the prospect of joining my local meeting, Northampton Friends Meeting, for mid-week mid-morning worship on Zoom. I hope to visit Quaker and non-Quaker spiritual centers for rest and rejuvenation. But mostly I’m leaving this time open to what Spirit shows me. Read more on our blog: https://lnkd.in/ddYhThma

We're excited to welcome Liz Anderson (they/them) as the Operations and Administrative Manager for QVS. Liz joined our team in January and has been a vital presence through application season. We're grateful to have another QVS alum on the team! Liz grew up attending the Downers Grove Friends Meeting in Illinois as well as attending ILYM. After attending Earlham College Liz was seeking further spiritual community and served in the Philadelphia QVS house 2016-2017 (with fellow staff member Haley). That year of service really inspired them to work with cooperatives both housing and worker cooperatives, to build spaces where people can rely on each other. Liz has worked in a variety of nonprofits focusing on operations, events, and educational programming. Liz currently resides in Cincinnati, OH, and enjoys trying every coffee shop available, board games, and cooking. Liz is looking forward to supporting QVS in providing these opportunities.

Happy Equinox! Last week all the City Coordinators and Mike, Director of Program, met in Rockaway, Oregon to sing to trees, be with the ocean and start looking over applications for the '24-'25 Fellowship year. Seeing the applications from people all around the country who want to do this work is inspiring. Thanks for wanting to join us! If you want to apply there's still time - but the clock is ticking. Get your applications in or reach out to Ruth, our recruitment coordinator, with any questions. You can find more information on our website - https://lnkd.in/d3QQVtp

Please join us in welcoming Mary Ellen Shaw to the QVS Board! Mary Ellen has been a member of Twin Cities Friends Meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota for close to 50 years. She is active in Northern Yearly Meeting as well, currently serving as Clerk of the NYM Ministry and Nurture Committee. Her involvement with Quaker Voluntary Service began more than two years before the first program cohort arrived in the Twin Cities in 2018, as part of a planning committee that started the local discernment process in 2015, putting in an application to be a QVS city in 2016. Mary Ellen has a Masters in Religious Studies from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. She taught courses in the field for several decades as a part-time adjunct at Metro State University, while completing a Ph.D. in American Studies and working full-time in student affairs at the University of Minnesota. She retired from both roles four years ago. She has clerked the Minneapolis/St. Paul QVS Local Support Committee for several years.

Spring is around the corner and that means a fresh crop of board members! We're thrilled to welcome Benjamin Warnke to the board of QVS. Benjamin has served as the Clerk of the Board of Brooklyn Friends School and Penington Friends House and as a board member of Mary McDowell Friends School and the American Friends Service Committee. He currently serves on the finance committee of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Benjamin is a principal of Alembic Community Development, a community development firm with offices in New York City and New Orleans. Alembic develops supportive and affordable housing and arts, educational and primary care facilities in partnerships with nonprofit organizations and community residents. He and his wife Tammy Pittman live in Brooklyn, New York. They are the doting parents of two grown daughters, Lily and Eve. Benjamin is a member of Brooklyn Monthly Meeting.

We're lucky to announce that Kate Cowie-Haskell (they/she) will be the new Minneapolis- Saint Paul Coordinator for QVS! Kate was raised between the Florida Keys and Marshfield, MA. Their formative experiences playing among mangroves and tropical fish laid a foundation for an earth-based spirituality that they continue to put into words and practice. Kate attended Unitarian Universalist services growing up, but had not attended formal worship in many years by the time she befriended a group of QVS Fellows in 2017. These Fellows opened her eyes to the power of communal spiritual practice. After eight years spent between public radio and agriculture in the Boston area, Kate moved to Minneapolis in 2023 to pursue an M.Div in Social Transformation at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Kate considers dancing, knitting, and gardening to be foundational to her spiritual practice. She is thrilled to be putting love into action with QVS as the Minneapolis- Saint Paul Coordinator.

We're excited to welcome Campo Larrick (they/he) to the QVS board: Thank you for your service Campo! Campo grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (on Occaneechi-Saponi land) where they graduated from Carolina Friends School in 2017. They completed a Bachelor’s in Social Work at Warren Wilson College before joining the 2021-22 Quaker Voluntary Service year in Boston, where they worked at the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center. They also completed American Friends Service Committee's Emerging Leaders for Liberation program in 2022. They deepened their Quaker faith in the 2022-23 New England Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers) Nurturing Faithfulness cohort as well as in Pendle Hill's 2023 Spring Term. They are currently honored to serve as a spiritual anchor for the 2024 Quaker Coalition for Uprooting Racism. Campo is a grateful member of Chapel Hill Friends Meeting and will join Master of Divinity program at Earlham School of Religion in Fall 2024. Campo enjoys running in the woods, watching old movies, and sharing coffee with their abuelita at breakfast each day. They are delighted to remain involved with QVS and to support staff and Fellows in building a world that values community and justice. #justice #quaker #service #volunteer #boardofdirectors

Join us at the Stanford University Public Service & Social Impact Virtual Career Fair! This event is via Handshake. Date: March 5, 2024 Time: 11:00am-2:00pm (Pacific Time) This fair is a great place to learn about non-profits, education and public service companies with a social impact and social justice focus. We look forward to seeing you there. https://lnkd.in/grFTxiYZ

QVS Board Chair Damon Motz-Storey is interviewed in this fascinating episode of Your Climate Change Podcast.