VIDES volunteers form a very talented group of people and no two are alike - each volunteer brings something wonderful and unique to mission with them. VIDES embraces this gift of individuality and strives, not only to find good placements where the volunteer will be able to express those talents, but also tries to foster the character and talents of each person.
We ask our volunteers to "think outside the box", to be creative and innovative in the field as they work to integrate themselves into the community and strive to create change in our world.
Meet our Current Volunteers
Taylor Taylor is originally from Sioux City, Iowa and now resides in Boston where she teaches elementary school Spanish. Taylor will volunteer at camp in New Jersey for the summer of 2022. Taylor enjoys meeting new people, seeing her students get excited about Spanish, and dancing to good music.
Emily Emily is from Maryland and has a degree in nursing.She has worked as a nurse for several years but is now looking to work more directly with children.She looks forward to doing this for three months this fall in Kenya.Emily enjoys soccer, singing, and music.
Genevieve Genevieve is from Alberta, Canada and is currently working on her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience.She plans to spend her summer vacation volunteering with our Sisters at a bilingual school in Costa Rica.Genevieve enjoys singing, playing the piano and guitar, and rock climbing.
Felicitas Felicitas (Feli) is from Austria and is currently working on her undergraduate degree in Psychology.She grew up at a Salesian school in Austria and will be spending her summer volunteering with our Sisters at summer camp in New Jersey and then in Westwego, Louisiana. Feli enjoys traveling, yoga, reading, and spending time with her friends.
Daniel Daniel is from Minnesota and has worked for many years as an actuary. He recently lived in Guatemala for a year and hopes to return for another year to volunteer with our Salesian priests there. Daniel enjoys playing the piano and saxophone and anything related to math.
Natalie Natalie is from NJ and has her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Social Work. Natalie has been on several international mission trips in the past and looks forward to volunteering with our Sisters in El Salvador for three months.Natalie loves to sing and go horseback riding.
Sarah Sarah is from Indiana and is a pastry chef and also has experience in the non-profit sector. Sarah hopes to volunteer for two months in Kenya and two months in India in the spring of 2023. Sarah enjoys writing, baking and cooking, and sketching.
Celeste Celeste is from San Antonio and has her BA in Music from the University of New Orleans. She is currently the choir director at a parish in San Antonio and has also worked in youth ministry.Celeste plans to go the Philippines this fall.She enjoys singing, writing music, photography, and videography.
“Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out, but all of us are asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the ‘peripheries’ in need of the light of the Gospel.” - Pope Francis