On January 24, 2024 Quaker Voluntary Service held a special Supporters’ Briefing. While we usually hold this event annually in June, we felt it was important to hold an event sooner to share with supporters the program shifts recently approved by the Board of Directors.

While we don’t yet have all of the details mapped out to implement the changes that have been approved by the board, it is important to us that our community of supporters come along with us as we experiment and adapt to the cultural and economic shifts we’ve seen since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Several people outdoors in a line doing a kick

Special Highlights

During this Supporters’ Briefing, we shared the six program shifts approved by the Board of Directors in November. We originally announced these decisions through blog posts, which you can find here, as well as sharing in our newsletter (click here to subscribe!).

Hilary Burgin (she/her; Executive Director), Damon Motz-Storey (they/them; Board Member), and Kate Monahan (she/her; Board Treasurer) shared more details on what went into discerning the experiments QVS plans to implement.

We also had the opportunity to hear updates from staff members Ruth Cutcher (she/her; Recruitment Coordinator), Caitlin Churchill (she/her; Communications Consultant), and Rachel Logan Wood (she/her; Alumni Coordinator), all of whom have been working on new projects to support Fellow recruitment and Alumni engagement efforts. 

We hope you will watch the full recording, but if you would like to jump to a specific section of the event, we provided timestamps below. Thank you for supporting the work we do at Quaker Voluntary Service!

Briefing Slide Deck

Hover over and click on the left and right edges of the slides below to scroll through the slide deck.

We are so grateful for everyone who could join us for the event and cherish the engagement from attenders. For those who were unable to attend, we hope you will watch the recording below.

We welcome your feedback on the event, which we invite you to share through this survey.

If you have additional questions, comments, concerns, or ideas, feel free to email them to [email protected] and we will be in touch.

 Video Timestamps

00:00:00 – Opening 

00:01:25 – Agenda Overview

00:02:25 – Introductions 

00:05:22 – Fellow Testimonials 

00:16:47 – Q & A

00:21:50 – Part 1: Experiments 

00:22:03 – Context and Cultural Trends 

Links shared in chat: 

1970 vs. 2020 How Working Through College Has Changed

00:25:48 – Recent Experiments: Recruitment, Communications, Alumni Engagement

Links shared in chat: 

Madison Rose on Living in Intentional Community

00:36:08 – Q & A 

00:46:09 – Young Adult Survey 

Links shared in chat: 

Read the blog about the young adult survey

00:51:55 – Part 2: Board Discernment 

00:53:16 – Fundraising Successes and Financial Responsibility 

00:56:04 – Ways to Support QVS 

Links shared in chat: 

Request QVS Staff to Visit your local Meeting or Church 

Subscribe to e-newsletter

Donate to QVS

Email Haley Castle-Miller, Development and Outreach Coordinator

00:58:02 – Program Shifts 

00:59:36 – Shorter Program Year

Links shared in chat: 

Read the blog post about a shorter program year 

01:01:29 – Summer Program 

Links shared in chat: 

Read the blog post about a pilot summer program

01:03:16 – Boston Angelic Troublemakers (BATs) Cohort 

Links shared in chat: 

Read the blog about the BAT Cohort

01:05:03 – Expanding Site Placement Options 

01:07:17 – Financial Shifts 

Links shared in chat:

Read the blog about financial shifts

01:09:42 – QVS Returning to the Twin Cities 

Links shared in chat:

Read the blog about returning the the Twin Cities

01:12:17 – Timeline

01:14:28 – Part 3: Q & A

01:27:30 – Closing and Thank You for Supporting QVS!

Shortening the QVS Year

Shortening the QVS Year

Photo: The QVS Philadelphia house at National Orientation in August 2023.  The survey that we conducted in October revealed that many young adults view an 11-month program to be too long and require too much of a commitment. This is also something that we have...

Young Adult Survey

Young Adult Survey

Photo: A collage of fun QVS moments featuring Alumni, Staff, and Fellows from recent years. Finding our compass... As we shared in our June 2023 Supporters’ Briefing, we have been exploring program shifts to better meet the needs of young adults today and respond to...

Rebecca Cole Sullivan – Alumni Spotlight

Rebecca Cole Sullivan – Alumni Spotlight

Rebecca Cole Sullivan served at American Friends Service Committee in Atlanta during the 2012-2013​ QVS year. She was in the first cohort!Quick Facts Pronouns: she/her Spiritual Community: Member of Atlanta Friends Meeting and worshiping there! Also a part of Friends...

Invest in QVS

When you give to QVS you are: empowering young adults to explore their spirituality and vocation; increasing capacity of social change and service organizations; fostering intergenerational connections in Friends meetings and churches; and building new leadership for the Religious Society of Friends and the world.

Consider giving a one-time or recurring gift online today to help sustain our program, or be in touch with us about non-financial or deferred giving options.

For more information about giving or to get connected to one of our program cities, contact Claire, our Development Director, [email protected].

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