Amanda Kirsch is a Second Year LVC Volunteer in Washington, DC. She has spent both of her years in Washington serving at Brainfood, a youth-development organization that uses cooking a food as tools to promote healthy living in a safe environment. Below, Amanda shares her reflections after almost two years of living in intentional community, journeying to an inclusive community, and serving at Brainfood.   Like many Volunteers, I came to LVC as a recent college graduate ready to discover. My college experience had challenged me to integrate my faith and learning and to seek ways to live and work accordingly. With a mission toRead More →

By:
On:
In: Food Justice, Leader Letter, Newsletter, Volunteer Profile
Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Seven years ago, Lutheran Volunteer Corps merged with the Lutheran Service Corps (LSC) in Omaha, Nebraska in order to help LSC serve more Omaha nonprofits through its Volunteer service program. This year, nine talented Volunteers live together in Hillstrom House and serve the Omaha community. Sitara Mahtani, who serves at NAMI Nebraska, a mental health advocacy organization, first heard about LVC from a friend who served in Wilmington, DE. Though a bit hesitant to participate because she is not a Christian, Sitara ultimately decided to apply for LVC because of her friend’s experience of openness and inclusion during her Volunteer year. Sitara, a graduate ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: Newsletter, Volunteer Profile
Tagged: , ,

Tashina Good, a current LVC Volunteer living in Chicago and serving at the ELCA Churchwide offices, shares her reflections on what this year has meant for her faith and discernment. Tashina is using her year with LVC to fulfill her internship requirement to become a rostered deaconess in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Her work to bring faith and ministry outside of the four walls of the church is inspiring, and an important piece of our collective social justice efforts!   “It is hard to believe that a full year has past. A full year from when my seminary thesis was in its lastRead More →

By:
On:
In: Leader Letter, Newsletter, Volunteer Profile
Tagged: , , , ,

Second Year Volunteer Cassie Hartnett Shares Her Story After a year of relationships, direct service work, and grad school applications, Cassie Hartnett is embarking on another year of LVC. She comes to her second year with a few lessons learned, a deepened sense of community, and a full ride to Union Seminary awaiting her. This is her story: My first LVC year was a huge growing experience in learning how to live in intentional community and exploring my faith. Being held accountable to my house community was important to me as I struggled to adjust to a new city, my first-year placement at Trinity SafeRead More →

By:
On:
In: Esprit de Corps, Newsletter, Volunteer Profile

Elizabeth Clapp (pictured above) is an LVC Volunteer in the Hillstrom House in Omaha, Nebraska. She recently graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN with a double major in Global Studies and Political Science. This is part of the reason for her interest in serving at her current LVC Placement—Voices for Children in Nebraska. Elizabeth loves researching and reporting about public policy issues like paid family leave, and while one of her main responsibilities at Voices for Children is doing just that, she also helps manage the organization’s social media presence and blog updates. Elizabeth says, “I enjoy serving at Voices because it is rewarding toRead More →

By:
On:
In: Food Justice, Leader Letter, Newsletter, Volunteer Profile