Orientation

Orientation training is a time spent building community with other volunteers and the BVS staff. At orientation, volunteers prepare for their service experience by exploring ways to enable personal and societal change, learning how to live simply, examining their personal beliefs and values, and becoming more aware of their role as a BVS volunteer.

Before you embark on a service year, you first come to an orientation! Volunteers get to pick which orientation is best for them. Typically, volunteers will go straight to their project site after orientation to begin their year of service. Volunteers are responsible for getting themselves to orientation, and BVS will provide transportation to the volunteers’ project sites.

OUR NEXT ORIENTATION DATES

Summer 2025: Unit 337

Dates: July 27-August 4
Location: Camp Colorado
Sedalia, Colorado


 

Fall 2025: Unit 338

Dates: September 10-18
Location: Camp Mardela
Denton, Maryland

GOALS OF ORIENTATION

Develop a community of support within BVS and learn how to develop local support for yourself while at your project.

Share and examine your personal beliefs and values with the intent of growing in your understanding of yourself, others, and God.

Share in the responsibilities for group life while learning what helps and hinders successful group living.

Struggle with the prevalent spiritual and social issues of our day and examine Christian ethical responses to current social, political, and economic issues.

Learn how to live simply and responsibly with the world’s limited resources.

Become more aware of people and situations throughout the world, including responsibilities of membership in the global family.

Explore ways to enable personal and societal change that embody mutuality and nonviolence.

Five photos of BVS volunteers shopping, holding candles, chatting, building a pyramid, and walking in the woods

ORIENTATION ACTIVITIES

  • Presentations and discussions on a variety of topics to prepare for service and gain awareness in the realm of peace, justice, and global concerns. Topics may include vocation, spiritual formation, cultural sensitivity, conflict resolution, resilience, and communication styles.
  • Shared meals and small-group meal preparation
  • Service projects
  • Personal sharing and group-building
  • Time for worship and devotion
  • Opportunities for recreation and reflection

If you’ve checked out our website and still have questions, or if you want to chat with someone in person, then feel free to contact us!
 

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800-323-8039
847-429-4396