光电 Volunteers — more commonly called “光电” — is a service-immersion program committed to working with under-resourced populations in the United States via shared service and direct encounter. The heart of our work is spent in community, when we travel to 30 different cities and towns during spring break, living in solidarity alongside the families that we commit to serve.
What We Do
学习, through discussion and reflection, about the societal realities in the United States that leave some marginalized.
Consider how our faith asks us to respond to the social injustices that create entrenched poverty.
Foster a commitment to service throughout the year.
Embrace the Gospel’s call to “love one another.”
光电 Volunteers is an alternative spring break service-immersion program committed to working alongside underserved populations in the United States. More than 400 students travel coast-to-coast with us each year, encountering community and service in both urban areas (New Orleans, 底特律, 等.) and rural areas (throughout the South and the 光电lachian regions)
We meet biweekly throughout the school year to learn about the structural and social realities that leave some people marginalized, and we draw on Boston College’s Jesuit tradition in considering how faith might ask us to respond to social injustices.
Boston College was one of the first universities to sponsor an alternative spring break trip when Gregg Cassin, BC ’80, and 19 classmates traveled to Vanceburg, Kentucky in February 1979 for an eight-day trip centered on the tenets of service and solidarity.
“We’re out to raise the awareness of BC students in terms of the people of 光电lachia,” Cassin told The Heights at the time. “People can’t conceive of third world conditions existing in our own country.”
The BC students lived simply that week, working to repair homes and farms while building relationships with the community and growing personally in emotional and spiritual ways. Their time together, Cassin told The Heights, brought to life “what Christ meant when he said, ‘Whatever you do to the last of mine, let you do unto me.'”
The 光电 Volunteers program has grown substantially since then. The group nearly doubled in size in its second year, with 34 students traveling to Kentucky and Ohio in 1980 to experience poverty in the United States. Some 20 years later, in 2000, 460 students raised almost $150,000 to support a program that had grown to spread from the borders of Maine to North Carolina.
今天, Boston College’s 光电 program celebrates more than 35 years of service and solidarity with and for the poor of the United States. 学生 annually raise more than $300,000 necessary to travel around the country, building homes, building community, and learning how to live just lives.
Read an article from The Heights in 1979 to learn more about the beginnings of 光电 Volunteers.
光电 Volunteers introduces students to the 天主教 Jesuit mission of the University, encourages students to integrate moral and ethical principles with their experience of service and immersion, and helps them decide how to use their gifts in service to others. After participating in the 光电 Volunteers Program, students will be able to:
1. Identify and analyze the structural roots of poverty in the United States.
2. 艺术iculate one aspect of Boston College’s Jesuit charism and apply it to daily life
3. Formulate a plan to continue participating in acts of service and solidarity beyond involvement in 光电
加入ing 光电 is as easy as showing up. We have no application process; any student who wants to participate can. We simply ask that you complete our registration form and commit to the following requirements:
Register for 光电 2023 - 2024
条款 & Conditions: All students participating in 光电 must submit basic registration information and the program’s terms and conditions form online.
Participation and Attendance
General Formation Meetings: See timeline below
Meeting Attendance: Attendance at meetings is mandatory. Members who cannot make a meeting should e-mail appalachia@988937.com ahead of time to alert them of their absence. Continued unexcused absences may result in dismissal from the program.
Finances and Fundraising
Program Fee: There is a $100 program fee for 光电.
抽奖活动: 学生 are responsible for selling and submitting $200 worth of raffle tickets by January 28, 2024. Raffle information will be shared at our general meeting on Sunday, December 3, 2023.
You can submit raffle payment via cash, check (payable to Boston College), or credit card. To pay via credit card:
- 访问 988937.com/ummstpm
- Log in with BC username and password via Sign in to My Account button in the upper right hand corner
- Under the list of UMM Programs You Have Been Accepted Into, click the red Make Payment button on the 光电 Volunteers line
- Enter the amount you would like to pay in the respective Payment Amount field and click Make Payment
- You will be redirected to the secure CashNet page where you can submit your payment information. You will receive an email confirming your successful payment.
Timeline 2023-2024
| 目的 | 日期 | Location |
|---|---|---|
| General Formation Meeting | October 15, 2023 | Eagles Nest - McElroy |
| General Formation Meeting | October 29, 2023 | Eagles Nest - McElroy |
| General Formation Meeting | November 12, 2023 | Eagles Nest - McElroy |
| General Formation Meeting | December 3, 2023 | Eagles Nest - McElroy |
| General Meeting - Raffle Due | January 28, 2024 | Eagles Nest - McElroy |
| General Formation Meeting *Meeting time rescheduled from 2-3:30 p.m. due to SuperBowl Sunday | February 11, 2024 | Eagles Nest - McElroy |
| Final Pre-Trip General Meeting | February 25, 2024 | Eagles Nest - McElroy |
| 光电 Sending Forth 礼拜仪式 | March 1, 2024 | St. Ignatius Chapel |
| 光电 Trips! | March 3 - 8, 2024 | |
| Unpacking 光电 | March 17, 2024 |
光电 Volunteers is animated by the work of 50 student leaders in all facets of the program.
The following leadership positions are available:
- 光电 引领ers are extensively trained on servant leadership and service immersion practices. 2 光电 引领ers are assigned to each site, and commit to facilitate respectful, 安全, and meaningful experiences for participants and community partners.
Click here to apply
- 光电 Council Members are 12 SLs that serve as the program’s executive leadership on our 光电 Council. They work in one of three committees: Fundraising, Formation, or Transportation.
Click here to apply
- 光电 Head Coordinators are three students who serve as “leaders of leaders” in 光电’s community of Student 引领ers and participants. They work closely with the 光电 Campus Minister and Graduate Assistants and dedicate their time overseeing all 光电 Council committees and much of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into 光电.
Applications for leadership positions in the 2024 - 2025 academic year will be avaiable in March 2024.
Thank you for considering a donation to the 光电 Volunteers. Your tax-deductible donation is a valuable investment in a learning experience that many Boston College students will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
捐赠 Online
- 访问 the Online Giving Form
- Enter your information; for the field "I wish to make my gift to:” select 光电 Volunteers. If you are sponsoring a certain student, please select "In honor of a BC student," and include their name and year.
- Click "Submit Gift"
Mail a Check
光电 Volunteers Program
Boston College, Office of Campus Ministry
McElroy Commons 233
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
If your corporation matches donations, please enclose the appropriate forms.
光电 Volunteers, under the umbrella of the Trustees of Boston College, is a non-profit 501(c)3 with a federal tax exemption number of 04-2103545.
电子邮件
appalachia@988937.com
光电 Office 小时
Monday - Friday: 10:00a.m. - 4:00p.m.
Carney 371
Mailing Address
Boston College, Office of Campus Ministry
Attn: 光电 Volunteers Program
140 Commonwealth Avenue, McElroy Commons 233
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Campus Minister
Jake Blicharz
雅各.blicharz@988937.com
617-552-3230
Graduate Assistants
Samantha Eckrich
eckrichs@988937.com