Ministry of Service Placements for Seminarians & Adults in Religious Formation
Students attending local Catholic seminaries or houses of study associated with their religious order and adults in religious formation are welcome to apply to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington for one of the following types of placements:
- an undergraduate internship placement (~40 hours in a semester)
- an academic internship placement (~240 - 600 hours with clinical supervision in an academic year)
- a summer internship (~320 hours over 10 weeks, May-August)
- a special project placement for a graduate student or adult (~200 hours over, roughly a day a week for 9 months)
- a summer service placement of accompaniment (~40 hours service between May-August)
NOTE: If you are seeking 'sign up and show up' activities such as St Maria's Meals, Spanish Catholic Center Food Distribution, Catholic Charities Center Food Distribution, and SHARE Food Program activities, you may register for events on the CC DC Volunteer Calendar that suit their schedules.
Catholic Charities Program Served:
Examples of placements that are typically available to seminary students:
- Anchor Behavioral Health, 1001 Lawrence St NW: students welcome clients, assist in the Medication Clinic – 2 students
- This program provides behavioral health services to people who live on very limited resources. Seminarians perform a variety of duties, at the direction of the ABH staff they are assigned to, depending on their skills and abilities which may include welcoming people, reading documents to people, helping people complete forms, assisting the front office staff, etc.
- Spanish Catholic Center, 1618 Monroe St NW: students help with the food pantry and food distribution – 2 students
- This program provides a variety of services to people who are recent immigrants to the US and DC. Seminarians perform a variety of tasks, at the direction of SCC staff they are assigned to, depending on their skills and abilities which may include receiving donations, stocking shelves, distributing food, welcoming people, helping people to complete job applications, assisting front office staff, etc.
- New York Ave Men’s Shelter, 1355 New York Ave NW: students help serve dinner – 2 students
- This program provides low barrier, emergency overnight shelter to men. Seminarians perform a variety of tasks at the direction of the shelter staff which may include serving dinner, distributing mail, sheets, soap, welcoming and chatting with the men, playing bingo or other games, watching sports events
Examples of placements that may be available to adults in religious formation programs:
- Catholic Charities Volunteer Engagement Office, 924 G St NW Washington DC + various locations
- This program provides overall coordination of volunteer engagement across the Catholic Charities. Volunteers typically serve 1-day a week for at least 10 weeks. They undertake a special project using their skills and knowledge that will expose them to volunteer engagement practices and leave an improvement in our capacity to engage volunteers. For example, organizing a special project and documenting the steps so we can repeat it in the future, creating graphics for recruitment campaigns and special events we can use in the next year, developing a volunteer enrichment activity – such as a discernment tool or reflection and sharing session.
- New York Ave Men’s Shelter Ministry of Presence, 1355 New York Ave NW
- This program provides low barrier, emergency overnight shelter to men. Volunteers in religious formation visit the shelter one evening a week for 10 weeks. They will perform a variety of tasks at the direction of the shelter staff which may include serving dinner, distributing mail, sheets, soap, welcoming and chatting with the men, or offering spiritual comfort, offering prayer and Bible study, sing-along of hymns, or other activities such as playing bingo or other games, playing sports trivia while watching sports events.
- English as a Second Language Instructor, virtually or St Catherine Laboure Viers Mill Rd, Silver Spring, MD
- This program provides people learn to speak English using an established curriculum. Volunteers attend 2 training sessions then are paired with another volunteer to teach classes 2 evenings a week for 10 weeks.
- Mitigating Food Insecurity, various locations and schedules
- These programs provide individuals with prepared food or groceries or produce to mitigate food insecurity and food desserts. Volunteers will complete the volunteer orientation and sign up using the CC DC Volunteer Calendar for shifts that suit their schedule.
- Trafficking Victims Assistance Program, 1018 Monroe St NE Washington DC
- This program provides support to people escaping human trafficking. Interns who are offered a placement in this program typically speak at least some Spanish to interact with people accessing services. Non-Spanish speakers will do a variety of important behind-the-scenes tasks to strengthen operations and support the program staff.
- Other programs
- Interns may propose a placement that interest them. Please consult the “Get Help” section of Catholic Charities website for background information about our programs.
Impact of the volunteer:
Seminarians and adults in religious formation will perform tasks that expand and enhance the experiences of people accessing services at Catholic Charities locations.
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Be present to the staff and people accessing services at the Catholic Charities location
- Carry out tasks assigned by the staff
- Seminarians and adults in religious formation may request feedback on their performance by drafting responses to the school’s / program’s form and requesting their staff liaison to review/edit and submit it.
Qualifications:
- Must be 18 years old or older
- Complete the screening requirements for the placement: application, ID, background check authorization, government ID check, and attend volunteer orientation.
- When completing the application, give particular attention to respond to the narrative questions: why you want a placement at Catholic Charities and what knowledge, skills, and abilities you bring to your service ministry. Your answers should be thoughtfully composed so the reader gets an impression of you.
- Adults-in-Formation may be required to demonstrate qualification for certain placements and or complete additional training and screening for certain roles.
Desired Skills, Experience & Characteristics:
- Open and friendly demeanor
- Eager to experience, perhaps, a new environment
- Value and appreciate the lived experiences of people present, which may be very different from your own
- Work well as a team member
- Speak Spanish, preferably
Volunteer Benefits:
Seminarians will gain experience:
- Providing ministry of accompaniment and presence to people accessing services at Catholic Charities
- Develop a sense of solidarity with people accessing services of Catholic Charities
- Carry out tasks to help CC DC staff to serve people
- Log hours in the volunteer management system
Adults in religious formation, in addition to the above, will gain experience:
- Relevant to their chosen ministry
- Gain insight and practical knowledge about how Catholic Charities meets needs of people in our community
- Develop networks of contacts to take into ministry
Support:
Seminarians and Adults in religious formation will be supervised by CC DC Staff member who will:
- Provide instruction re tasks to perform
- Answer questions
- Inform volunteers of the safety protocols
- Provide feedback to a volunteers' program by responding to a draft composed by the volunteer
- Approve service hours that are logged in the volunteer management system
Time Commitment:
- 2-8 hours a week
- Serve a minimum of 40 hours over the course of the semester/summer
- Typical schedules:
- Anchor Behavioral Health: M-F during business hours
- Spanish Catholic Center: TU, morning or evening
- New York Ave Men’s Shelter: M-SU, late afternoon/evening
Location:
- Students will serve at one of these locations:
- Anchor Behavioral Health, 1001 Lawrence St NE
- Spanish Catholic Center, 1618 Monroe St NW
- New York Ave Men’s Shelter, 1355 New York Ave NE
- Catholic Charities Volunteer Engagement Office, 924 G St NW Washington DC + various locations
- English as a Second Language Instructor, virtually or St Catherine Laboure Viers Mill Rd, Silver Spring, MD
- Trafficking Victims Assistance Program, 1018 Monroe St NE Washington DC
- Adults in Religious Formation placed to compete a special project may serve at any Catholic Charities location.