Loretto Volunteer Program: Fostering the Spirit of Loretto

We are excited to kick off the 2021-2022 Loretto Volunteer Program year!  We are welcoming seven Volunteers who will serve with social justice organizations in Denver and El Paso, Texas, while living in intentional community and deepening their engagement with Loretto values.  

Developed in collaboration with the Loretto Community, the following goals will guide the Loretto Volunteer Program through the upcoming year:

1. The Loretto Volunteer Program carries forward the Loretto Community’s commitment to working for justice and acting for peace in the world through activism, advocacy, service and acting in solidarity for change.

2. The Loretto Volunteer Program cultivates relationships with the Loretto Community to enhance community, spirituality and mission for both.

3. The Loretto Volunteer Program partners with local organizations for mutual learning, support and collaboration toward social justice and an integrated Volunteer experience. 

4. The Loretto Volunteer Program values intentional community life based on mutual respect, sustainability and solidarity, and supports both the hope and the struggle of community life commitment.

5. The Loretto Volunteer Program encourages self-reflection and supports inclusive and dynamic exploration of spirituality.

To achieve these goals, our Volunteers will be offered a variety of experiences, training and opportunities for relationship that characterize a recognizably “Loretto” program and experience.  Some examples of these offerings to Volunteers are as follows:

• Information about the history of the Loretto Community broadly and specifically in our placement cities
• A full-time placement with a social justice organization where they will engage in service work, learning and professional development
• Opportunities for Volunteers to participate in activism/advocacy initiatives of the Loretto Community and for Volunteers to develop activism/advocacy initiatives to share with and invite participation from the Loretto Community
• Opportunities to develop personal relationships with Loretto Community members and to attend Loretto Community gatherings, virtually or in-person
• Opportunities to participate in retreat at the Loretto Motherhouse and/or Loretto mission trips (border experience, UNCSW or the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women, etc.)
• Professional development sessions to support Volunteer service work at their placement site and in their future careers
• Personal and interpersonal support sessions that support both the hope and the struggle of community life commitment (therapeutic conversations, conflict resolution, communication style workshops, etc.)
• Information about spiritual communities available in their placement city and options for spiritual direction 
• Retreats, reflective writing practices and invitations to spiritual gatherings with the Loretto Community

To learn more about the Loretto Volunteer Program, our new Volunteers and our placements in El Paso and Denver, visit our website.