After graduating from Vassar College in 1990 as an English major & with a NY State teaching credential in English for grades 6-12, I served as a 3rd grade teacher through VESS in Kings like, TX. It was a wonderful experience.
I grew up in Rochester, NY & had a roommate from Louisiana who taught 1st grade through VESS at the same school in Kingsville.
The administrators for VESS were excellent. They visited the various sites, made sure we were doing well job-wise, emotionally, & spiritually. We had frequent retreats in San Antonio & got to know the other volunteers. I loved the children I taught & the school was supportive & grateful. I learned a lot about Mexican food, Texas, including country line dancing!
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- EIN 74-1774584
- 1625 Rutherford Ln Bldg D Austin TX 78754 USA
- http://www.vess.org
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Children & Youth, Children & Youth Services, Philanthropy, Religion, Roman Catholic, Voluntarism Promotion
Mission: Volunteers for Educational and Social Services (VESS) was founded in 1972 as a lay Catholic teaching corps for Texas. Since that time, VESS has moved beyond serving in schools and now serves in a variety of community service organizations. VESS has been a program of the Catholic bishops of Texas and is affiliated with the Texas Catholic Conference.
Our mission is to match qualified men and women who desire a year of full-time community service with qualified non-profit and religious organizations dedicated to community service and change. In essence we are a faith-based Peace Corps type program for Texas.
In our 28 years of history, over 1,100 men and women have served as full-time volunteers for a year. Currently we have 30-35 individuals serving in Texas communities. The majority of these individuals are recent college graduates and most are non-Texans.
We save community service organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Our volunteers live simply and in community. Service sites find themselves saving 50-75% of a regular salary through the employment of a VESS volunteer.
After completing a year of service with VESS, many members go on to graduate school or to be leaders themselves in various non-profit and religious organizations. VESS has direct impact in communities and the experience has generational impact in the life of volunteer.
Donor & Volunteer Advisory
This organization's nonprofit status may have been revoked or it may have merged with another organization or ceased operations.