Winter is still with us. The pandemic keeps us home. Lent has just begun. It is February and a great time for hunkering down! Fortunately, the IVC community and its many friends have access to an amazing array of resources to help us through this time.

Our colleagues at IVC Albany have compiled a list of prayers and programs during the Lenten season and are sharing it with the rest of us. Thanks to Kate Burgess, IVC Albany Regional Director, for passing this along. Click here for this varied and solid listing of Ignatian resources.

In addition, the Albany and Syracuse regions of IVC are hosting a reflective workshop on Saturday, March 13, led by Father David McCallum, SJ, Executive Director of the Discerning Leadership Program at Le Moyne College in Syracuse.The workshop is entitled: "The Heart of Leadership: Love, Courage, and Vulnerability."

The 90-minute program, which begins at 10 am ET, includes contemplative prayer, leadership presentation, and individual reflection. It concludes with a question-and-answer period. Proceeds from this 90 minute webinar will support the work of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps in Albany and Syracuse. Suggested donation is $25. Click here for more information.

The Milwaukee region of IVC is sponsoring "But Who is my Neighbor: A Spirituality of Community Renewal," a Lenten reflection with Ignatian author and Boston College professor Tim Muldoon. This Zoom virtual gathering will take place on Thursday, March 25 from noon to 1:30 ET. Registration is open to all. Sign up here.

And, this Saturday, February 20, from 10 - 11:30 am ET, IVC Omaha welcomes Father Andy Alexander, SJ, co-founder of Creighton Online Ministries, to lead a Lenten morning of prayer and reflection on the theme of "Letting Lent Heal and Renew Us." Registration is free. Donations are encouraged. For more information and to register, click here.

Our ninth annual IVC New England Madonna Della Strada Award Ceremony will take place virtually on Sunday afternoon, April 11th, from 4:00 to 5:30 pm. IVC will celebrate twelve years of partnership with area nonprofits striving to combat poverty and injustice in Boston, Worcester, Providence, and surrounding communities.

Save the date and join us as we honor Jonathan Scott (Boston), Shannon Carroll (Providence), and Anne and Kevin Kane (Worcester), giving thanks for their lives of service. Invitations will be in the mail in the next few weeks. Father Joseph O'Keefe, SJ, Provincial of the USA East Jesuit Province, will be our keynote speaker.

If you know that you are joining us, it is now possible to register early. Click here for early registration. You may also follow the same link to donate toward the support of the evening. 

IVC New England is midway through our 2020-2021 service year, but It is not too early for nonprofit agencies, in search of the skills and experience that our Service Corps members provide, to reach out to our office to begin a conversation about partnerships for the coming year.

This year's Service Corps members have worked on site, virtually, and in a hybrid manner. Our hope is that in the fall, with a vaccine widely distributed, old and new partners will be able to open up their schools, offices, and programs to more on site involvement. Either way, IVC volunteers are able to serve and make an impact in an agency's mission.

Incoming Service Corps members begin submitting applications in April for fall placement. Nonprofits interested in potentially contracting with IVC can contact us directly at newengland@ivcusa.org. This year we currently have 43 volunteers working with 28 nonprofit partners in Boston, Worcester, Providence, and neighboring cities and towns.