The Cabrini Mission Corps provides opportunities to do service work after graduation to those who are interested in social justice issues both in the United States and internationally.
On Friday, Nov. 6, Cabrini Mission Corps, led by director Gina Scarpello, held an all-day workshop to advise current students to “healthfully enter where God is calling them.” The Cabrini Mission Corps held the workshop in partnership with the Catholic Network of Volunteer Services. Students from Cabrini, LaSalle University and Neumann University attended.
This was Cabrini’s first time ever offering the workshop, essentially making it a pilot program to advertise their services and those incorporated within them.
The CNVS was established in 1963 and offers over 200 mission programs. This organization is based out of Washington, D.C. and provides guidance to graduating seniors who are seeking spiritual connection through volunteer work.
Many programs are now offering housing, health care and transportation, which makes it very appealing for students to get involved.
CNVS offers an online personality profile that allows students to go and essentially be matched to an organization that best fits them and their needs.
“Pick a program that speaks and fits your needs, gifts are placed within each one of us, and we need to find what we can do to better the world,” Scarpello said.
There are more than 10,000 volunteers that serve in these programs throughout the United States and in 108 countries.
Meghan Hurley, a Cabrini alumna, has been serving as a volunteer in Cusco, Peru for two years now through one of the CNVS programs. Hagen Trees, also a Cabrini alumna, has served the past year as a teacher in an inner city Catholic school in Washington D.C.
The Cabrini Sisters’ program, the Cabrini Mission Corps, places volunteers in Cabrini missions around the world including nine different countries and six U.S cities.
“I think more people are seeing the rich advantages of doing a service a year or two after graduation because they are getting a taste of it during their college and even high school years,” Scarpello said.
Scarpello believes that as students learn, they reflect on their experiences and it often leaves them wanting more.
Students who wish to do volunteer work after graduation may be surprised how competitive many placements are. About 50 percent of Harvard graduates are now turning to some form of service work.
“Making a commitment to give a year or two of service provides an opportunity to make a difference both in the lives of others and in one’s personal life,” Scarpello said.
