Bon Secours Volunteer Ministry (BSVM) provides the opportunity for young adults across the country to participate in the Sisters of Bon Secours commitment to justice in radical solidarity with the poor, the suffering, and those most in need.

The Sisters of Bon Secours, USA, are an international congregation of women religious based in Marriottsville, Maryland, although the many ministries of the sisters serve a wider network of neighborhoods and communities. The mission of the sisters is to provide healing, compassion, and liberation to all, especially the vulnerable.

BSVM is one of six ministries that share the mission of the Sisters of Bon Secours. Ministry Volunteers spend one year living in intentional community committed to providing loving care to their neighbors. Volunteers become integral parts of their neighborhoods through work-placements at local organizations, and building relationships with neighbors which allows them to learn about and combat social injustices. By living in the community in which they serve, volunteers establish a rich and fulfilling reciprocal relationship with their neighbors!

Through this year of service, Volunteers are also on a personal journey of deepening their faith. As an intentional community, the Volunteers are part of an in depth formation program, which provides a life-long connection to living the Gospel message in their everyday lives. Volunteer alumni share that our program pillars are weaved into their lives, still years later.

Our volunteer program provides much needed love and care to communities in need, and also provides a way of life for our volunteers. It is a holistic approach to building healthy communities!

In our 24-year history as a ministry, BSVM takes great care to remain in contact with alumni of our program, their families, the site supervisors of work-placements, and others that want to share our ministry and program. Relationship building is part of our formation program and integral to the success of our volunteers!

To stay in touch, we use social media and e-mail communications. But there is nothing quite like getting something special in the mail! We send 12-page newsletters three times a year to approximately 500 people. Through this newsletter, we can share what is happening within the overall program, a message from current volunteers, updates from alumni, and hear from those positively affected by the program. It is a powerful tool to keep us all connected and spread the good work of our volunteers – current and alumni.

But printing all of those newsletters gets costly. We are supported by the Sisters of Bon Secours, USA, a religious non-profit and we make every attempt possible to be good stewards of our financial resources. Receiving this grant will allow us to allocate dollars back to the volunteers currently serving their communities, which in-turn provides more to the community! The work of our volunteers is powerful and we are thrilled to be able to be Good HelpTM to more people!