For 30 years, the Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC) has invited older adults, mostly retirees, in 19 regions to serve others by bringing their lifetime of skills to work in “community organizations [that] work directly with people who are materially poor or in organizations that address the structures that affect people who are poor” (IVC website).
To reflect on their experiences, IVC members participate in monthly meetings and read a spiritual reflection book each year. The 2024–25 book selection is Seeing with the Heart by Kevin O’Brien, SJ.
IVC President and CEO Mary McGinnity spoke to Eric Clayton on the AMDG podcast. Listen to that episode featured below. Then learn more about this great organization and ways to get involved by visiting their website, ivcusa.org.
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Brilliant in-depth interview. Thanks Eric and Mary McGinnity. Indeed IVC are a Wisdom Bank. In the task of worldbuilding, the troops of the IVC are rendering a meaningful service in situations of dire need. As fire fighters against injustices, they are simultaneously engaged in setting the world on a different type of fire. May their tribe increase. AMDG.
I have been a member of IVC for 24 years and can attest to its value–not only to the poor whom we serve, but as an affirmation of older adults. Life isn’t over when we retire or the children leave home; older adults have skills and wisdom to contribute to the community as we discover the new ways that God is calling us at this time in our lives. When I joined IVC in 2000, we were in four cities on the East Coast. Now there are more than 600 of us, all over the United States. We must be doing something right!