SCN Lay Mission Volunteer Program
We invite lay women and men to a cross-cultural partnership with people, especially the pressed, economically poor, and marginalized, primarily in the areas in which Sisters, Associates, and/or members of the Sisters of Charity Federation are called to mission.
AmeriCorps
Join our mission to lead, serve, and make a difference. The SCN Volunteer Program has partnered with Notre Dame Mission Volunteer—AmeriCorps to offer two AmeriCorps positions on our beautiful 300-acre campus working with our Ecological Sustainability and Nazareth Grounds teams in furthering the SCN mission to “care for the earth”.
Volunteer opportunities
Appalachia
In the mountains of Beattyville, Kentucky, volunteer teams engage in outreach ministries of home and trailer repairs, food and clothing distribution, and meeting the basic needs of those in need.
Belize City
Over the course of a week, volunteers build a 16’ x 20’ house for a family in need.
Las Flores, Belize
Mission teams work with village leaders repairing and building homes. They also assist with the needs of the parish, school, and community.
Kentucky
People are invited to serve others on the Nazareth campus or in the Bardstown, Kentucky, community as part of a viable community, immersed with the Sisters in their rich tradition.
India
Work with the Sisters in their diverse ministries in India.
Future trips to be determined. Let us know if you are interested.
Nepal
Partner with us as we work to help empower the people of Kathmandu.
Future trips to be determined. Let us know if you are interested.
Mississippi
Participants volunteer to repair homes in northern Mississippi and are immersed in other missions such as a garden cafe.
Montana
Join us as we work in collaboration on the Crow Reservation in Pryor, Montana.
New Orleans
Groups work with individual families in the rebuilding of New Orleans, Louisiana, from the long-lasting effects of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.
See all upcoming trips
Make a donation to the SCN Lay Mission Volunteer Program
Supplying our volunteers with tools and materials is always needed. Your sponsorships and donations make these life-changing volunteer trips possible.
Sister Luke Boiarski
Director
502-348-1581
Ellen Sprigg
Associate Director
502-348-1580
Amy Ulrich
Administrative Assistant
502-348-1583
Disaster Relief
The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth have a long tradition of responding in times of disaster. Historically Sisters have responded to flooding in Louisville, the yellow fever epidemic, monsoons in India, a hurricane in Belize, and an earthquake in Nepal. Continuing in this spirit, the SCN Disaster Relief Program invites volunteers to offer spiritual and physical support to persons experiencing a disaster. Sisters and volunteers respond in the same spirit of Vincent de Paul with reverence for each person and witness to God’s presence in the midst of adversity. The Disaster Relief Program provides an opportunity to put faith into action.
Volunteer News
Earth Day Cleanup at Nazareth
Join the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth’s Office of Ecological Sustainability for an Earth Day Cleanup this Earth Day: Friday, April 22, 2022 from 9:00-11:00 am at Nazareth.
After two years of service, I see a spiritual way forward
Living and serving alongside the SCNs at Nazareth have inspired and empowered AmeriCorps Volunteer, Julia Gerwe, to reinvest in her faith exploration and spiritual practices.
SCN program participant named volunteer of the year
A volunteer with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth was recently named volunteer of the year in Bardstown, Kentucky. From Belize to his own backyard, David White volunteers his time helping others.
Stream Team sees Sisters’ legacy ripple
The SCN’s mission “to care for the Earth” is making ripples in the Nelson County community with the help of Stream Team, a youth educational program co-led by Julia Gerwe and Whitney Wurzel, Executive Director of New Pioneers for a Sustainable Future, in partnership with Nelson County 4-H Youth Development.
Belize volunteers pack meals
The volunteer group that travelled to Belize to build a house with Hand in Hand Ministries joined the Sisters at SCN Center Belize to pack food for the homeless.
Serving those in need
During this season of Lent, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth led volunteers to build a house in Belize for a family in great need. In doing this work they say they have felt humbled and blessed to have had the opportunity.
Embracing the Call to Serve
AmeriCorps volunteer Julia Gerwe reflects on her “call to serve” at Nazareth and what motivates her to continue this work each day: “I packed my bags, moved onto the property of a Catholic convent with sisters I didn’t know, and set off to find my answers. What I’ve gotten in return has been so much greater.”
Continuing the call to respond
The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth disaster relief team worked with Taylor County Emergency Management to get in contact with families near Campbellsville to continue their cleanup efforts from the December 2021 tornados that decimated this community.
A mission of love
It has been two years since the SCN Volunteer Program has been able to bring a team of volunteers back to Belize, due to the global pandemic that has become our daily life. Up until the team of nine boarded the plan on Jan. 16, there was nervousness in the air as to whether it would truly happen.