QUAKER VOLUNTARY SERVICE INC

QVS strives to:
• Provide opportunities for transformative experiences that will orient young adults to lives of peace and justice through service to others.
• Create a pool of socially conscious, Young Adult Friends who enrich local Quaker meetings both during and after their year of service, and who contribute their leadership and talents back to the Quaker community once they complete their year of service with QVS.
• Support community-based organizations working for racial, economic, and gender justice.

Our Fellows
1) Work for agencies that support marginalized individuals and communities and strive to transform unjust structures;
2) Live together in a community that practices simplicity, is grounded in regular Quaker spiritual practices, and is supported by local Quaker meetings and individuals; and
3) Experience QVS program days designed to provide training and education about major urban issues (e.g. racism, class, economic injustice, sustainability), leadership skills, and the Quaker Way.

Local Quaker meetings provide a strong foundation of support in each city by serving as spiritual nurturers to our Fellows and volunteering to help with programming and house needs.

We have a dedicated staff member in each of our cities to support our Fellows' work, spiritual growth and emotional and physical well-being.

We provide Fellows with both the space and the supportive context to engage in difficult questions that inevitably arise through justice work and life in community.

We have forged a number of strong relationships with non-profits in the communities in Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Portland, OR., who provide meaningful and challenging work experiences for our Fellows.

We receive financial and organizational support from Friends meetings and churches throughout the United States, with sponsorship by one or more meetings in each of our locations.

We have grown from a single house with six Fellows in 2012 to five houses and 36 Fellows in 2018. We continue to grow our donor base each year, and have successfully applied for grants to support our work and our expansion efforts.

Our focus in the next two years is to:
• Increase our recruitment capacity, particularly around accessibility for young adults of color;
• Provide more support for mental health and wellness for our Fellows;
• Offer relief and counseling for student loan debt, as well as provide other assistance to lower barriers to participation among potential applicants;
• Deepen our connections with yearly and monthly meetings across the United States; and
• Support expansion to new cities through the creation of best practices for Local Support Committees and Spiritual Nurturers.