Photo: The QVS Boston house on retreat in Sandwich, NH in the summer of 2023.
If you read our blog about a shortened program year, you might be wondering, what will QVS do with the extended summer break? We are piloting a summer program! There are endless possibilities for how to make use of the houses for a few months and we want to be intentional about using our resources in a way that directly aligns with our mission. The QVS Board of Directors directed staff to experiment with summer service programs. We plan to explore two summer programs for different age groups in different cities.
When we are at college and university recruitment events, we often hear students ask about shorter internship opportunities. We would like to offer this kind of experience to college age students. This program will be about six weeks long. Students will get a taste for QVS and the Quaker way, while having an opportunity to gain some professional experience.
We feel that this path enables us to deepen into our mission of supporting young adults in living spirit-led lives.
We also want to explore what it would be like to offer a 10-day service learning opportunity for high school age students. Rather than working at individual site placements, this group would work collaboratively on one or two projects at one or two organizations. Perhaps they would help organize donations, build a community garden, or pack and deliver meals. Again, this would offer high school students an opportunity to learn about Quakerism and get a sense of what it would be like to serve in QVS as a Fellow.
The possibilities for these programs are vast and we are excited to continue to explore exactly what form they will take. We are still working out many of the logistics, as the summer program will not begin until 2025. We feel that this path enables us to deepen into our mission of supporting young adults in living spirit-led lives.
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