 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
10 year anniversary Reflections
| "GVV set in motion a shift in my life whereby I lived with a preferential option for the poor that has remained with me well beyond my years as a GVV. I have been a champion of issues facing impoverished communities through awareness, advocacy, and providing opportunities." Scott Kelly GVV 01-02, 02-03 "The GVV program was just as challenging as it was rewarding. It opened up a door to the underserved, and ways our everyday actions and thoughts affect those around us. It's a door I will never be able to close. And yet I would not have exchanged that experience for the world. GVV program allowed me to grow as an individual and direct my life toward a more fulfilling and rewarding experience. Thank you!" Katie Theoktisto, 08-09 "GVV will always hold a special place in my heart. When I think back to joining the very first group, these were some of my favorite memories...Friday night dinners...group prayer in the basement...pajama, dance, birthday party...Fr. Ed taking us to Riverdance...Fr. Frank's endless psychological discussions...the first group of Kenyan seminarians arriving...eating Ted Drewes in the parking lot on Grand...serving meals at St. Vincent's...Br. James' yummy cooking...visiting Aquinas Institute...living with the Vincentians...having the best directors ever! Thanks GVV program, for all the fruitful seeds you plant and help us sow." Kelly (Dodson) Shoup, 00-01 "My year as a GVV taught me many things that will stay with me for the rest of my life. A few of my favorites include living simply and living a life focused around serving others. If I could go back in time knowing everything I know now, I would redo my year as a GVV in a heartbeat!" Brooke Southerland, 08-09 "Favorite continuous joke would be the traveling egg that showed up in Maria's room randomly early in the year and then spent the entire ten months haunting people. It wrapped itself in newspaper and was under the christmas tree, it ended up in a few kitchen cabinets, it was in the washer and dryers, I found it in my backpack when I got to work one day, hanging in my room, on Mallori's toilet, in front of people's rooms. It started haunting people at the end of the year the night before they left the program. Brady and I believe it has the soul of a hobo in it because a previous year trapped it in the egg. I think Brady has made a few sacrifices to it... Anyway, for a quote, we started yelling "You're out of control!" a lot. Also, let's not forget that if anyone asks about volunteering, if they should, did I like it, etc., I can honestly say it was the best year of my life." Pat Zerkel 09-10 "I learned to love better during my GVV year. There are few better gifts than this." Suzette Smith, 05-06 "I am indebted to the GVV program for making me who I am today. It stirred up in me a love for working with the poor, the lonely, the vulnerable, the oppressed. It created in me a sense of being a voice for the voiceless. It showed me how to better pray, to better love, and to better serve. I feel that - for the rest of my life - I am part of the Vincentian family." Amy Arendt Dossett, 03-04 "My GVV year helped me to understand the Body of Christ more fully. God calls the poor, rich, conservatives, liberals, young, old, sane, insane, and everyone in between to be members of His Church. All of us bring unique gifts and understandings to the table." Elizabeth Gappa, 01-02 "It was a year to serve others, live simply, build community and strengthen my relationship with God." Christine Woody, 02-03 "GVV was one of the best experiences of my life. It gave me many new friends, a deeper appreciation of the Vincentian charism and a love of people who are in need. I would not be where I am today without my year in St. Louis and the support of my community since then. Even though I'm not there, you are in my thoughts and prayers today." Jeremy Dixon, 2003-2004 "My favorite GVV memory is eating breakfast with the Kenyan Novices. One morning Phillip picked up a bagel and said, "This bread does not make me happy." The phrase stuck with our group the rest of the year." Elizabeth Gappa, 01-02 "My favorite memory was piling into the van for a trip to Ted Drewes, whether it was 90 degrees or 17 degrees! A few things I gained from my year of service: a consciousness that each of has a "sphere of influence" in which we make a difference, simply through actions, words, attitudes, and relationships formed, confidence in my ability to live simply and in a sustainable way and the ability to see working for the common good as a way of life, with the conventional lifestyle of material accumulation and self-centeredness as an exception to the rule." Shannon Duffy, 09-10 "During orientation week, I was forewarned that many GVVs gain weight during their time of service. I remember it quite well, because I was supremely confidant it would not happen to me. But lo and behold, after a year of living in community I have put on weight. I exist more now, as a fuller person, than last August. I am filled with more memories, more friendships, more inside jokes (that's what Mallori said), a bigger heart. I have expanded my perceptions of religion, volunteerism, and of my relationship with God through prayer. I now carry this weight with me as a Peace Corps Volunteer at the Chongqing Industry Polytechnic College in China. I hope to gain weight here as well, although all this walking and biking better cancel out the irish creme I helped myself to every Friday. So to all GVVs embarking on their year (especially the GVV that lives closest to the door and has a view of the garden), I hope you gain weight as well!" Elizabeth Chan 09-10 "In my year with the GVV I learned new skills; developed a greater sensitivity to the needs of the poor and disadvantaged; formed new and lasting friendships; grew in my spirituality; experienced the challenges and rewards of living simply in community; and, of course, learned to appreciate more deeply the feminine perspective." Mike Laucello, 08-09 |
Home - What
We Do - Who We Are - Our
Newsletter - Community Events - How
to Apply
How to Help - Photo
Album - Contact Us
Gateway Vincentian Volunteers
2912 Arsenal Street
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314) - 771-1474
Fax: (314) - 771-2410
email: gatevol@aol.com
As a program that offers the AmeriCorps Education Award, we may not require members to be of any faith or religion, or to participate in inherently religious activities. If an individual chooses to participate in religious activities separately from the AmeriCorps Education Awards Program (AEAP), any such time is not counted towards completing an AmeriCorps term of service. Any participation in religious activity is voluntary.