Program Anniversaries

Celebrations are very important in most cultures, and among the volunteer program community, this is also true. Below you’ll find information about volunteer programs that are celebrating anniversaries in 2007. We hope you’ll join us in congratulating them and wishing them more wonderful years!

Casa de Esperanza- Casa de Esperanza de los Niños Inc., (The House of Hope for Children) is celebrating 25 years of serving abused, neglected and HIV affected children and infants in the greater Houston metropolitan area. To honor the past 25 years of service to the community, and as a commitment to the future, Casa de Esperanza is in the midst of a capital campaign and building project that will include 10 brand new, energy efficient homes built on existing property that was donated several years ago. The agency is striving to reduce operating costs while at the same time providing beautiful new homes in which to continue the tradition of excellence and individualized care provided by agency foster families and staff to children in need. The year will culminate in a 25^th anniversary celebration and open house on the new property when the project is complete.

If you are interested in volunteering with Casa de Esperanza or in contributing to the agency’s capital campaign, or if you would simply like more information, please contact Susan Molitor at (713) 529-0639 or visit the Casa de Esperanza website at www.casahope.org

Although several volunteers served rather informally with a few sisters beginning in 1989, the Loretto Community established a more formal program in 1992 in order “to introduce volunteers to the Loretto mission by providing opportunities to serve and share in community works with members of the Loretto Community.” The Loretto Volunteer Program generally consists of four to six volunteers per year. Some perform direct service in agencies such as EarthLinks and Project WISE; others work more directly for social change with Loretto’s NGO representative at the United Nations. Volunteers spend a week at the Loretto Motherhouse in rural Kentucky, participate in the School of the Americas Protest and the Martin Luther King Day “Marade” in Denver, and occasionally spend a weekend in the mountains reflecting on their activities.

Maryknoll has a long and varied history of rendering service to the people of China. In 1997, the Maryknoll China Teachers Program began modestly with only two volunteers. Ten years later, the number of Americans who have volunteered in China is over 350 and their numbers keep growing annually. Most volunteers hail from the US and come from a wide mix of backgrounds and ages. They participate either in the one-month summer program or are English teachers on college campuses for one academic year. Each one of them joins the Program with a single aim – to share their Christian values, while also serving to educate the young people in China. Younger as well as more senior volunteers are drawn to this Program because it enriches their own lives, allows them to share their talents, helps them develop new and lasting friendships as well as experience the wonders of the Chinese culture. After completing the Program, some of our volunteers have gone on to secure a Masters in Education, returned to work in China, two have stayed with the Program to become coordinators, and many still correspond with their Chinese students. Many teachers have pursued professions involving international relations and Foreign Service. For American volunteers, joining the Maryknoll China Teachers Program is a life changing experience – and one they will always cherish.For further information please contact Maretta McKenna at chinaserveusa@msn.com or visit our website at www.chinaserv.org

Are you a volunteer program celebrating an anniversary this year and not listed? We’d love to highlight your special anniversary! Please email Stacie West at staciewest@pallotticenter.org and tell us your anniversary and any special activities or celebrations you have planned!