About Us
Notre Dame Mission Volunteers-AmeriCorps
Who We Are
Notre
Dame Mission Volunteer Program, founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de
Namur in 1992, has been placing volunteers at sites nationwide to work
alongside God's people, especially the economically disadvantaged. The
volunteers accomplish this mission by promoting literacy and education.
AmeriCorps is a federally-funded service program, commonly referred to as the domestic Peace Corps, that brings together citizens of diverse backgrounds to serve communities in the areas of education, public safety, human needs and the environment.
In 1995, NDMV sought a partnership with AmeriCorps to allow for an increase in the number of members, offering greater community service in financially-limited sites. This partnership formed Notre Dame Mission Volunteers-AmeriCorps.
If you are intereseted in learning more about the roots of NDMVA and the partnership with AmeriCorps, please click here to view "Hearts as wide as the world"
Our Mission
Notre
Dame-AmeriCorps, believes that education is the fundamental tool in the
struggle of the poor for human dignity, self-esteem, and self-determination.
We seek to build community among our members, as well as the people with
whom we work by reaching out across culture and class. We are committed
to helping people help themselves. Our goal is to promote and encourage
education, community empowerment, leadership development and multicultural
harmony.
Our Approach
NDMVA
creates holistic educational programs for at-risk children and adults
in economically disadvantaged communities. We target children in Head
Start and school settings as well as adults who are high school dropouts
in need of GED, literacy, or parenting skills. Our volunteers are recruited
from the local communities and from college campuses nationwide. To further
our goals, we develop service partnerships with groups and individuals
in the public and private sectors.
Our members work to empower the economically disadvantaged and oppressed through education and personal hands-on support. They tutor children and adults (literacy, GED, and ESL), organize after-school enrichment activities, model and teach conflict resolution and parental effectiveness, and involve community professionals in the learning process.
We seek to build community among our members, as well as the people with whom we work. Currently, our members come from 20 states and myriad racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Our multicultural, ecumenical group is bound together by common ideals of service, educational empowerment, community building, and a desire to translate spiritual values into action.