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Catholic Representation in Washington DC
Imagine volunteering just one year of your life and finding yourself lobbying in Washington DC. Imagine having input on the national budget and important issues such as immigration reform. Imagine representing the Catholic faith to senators and representatives. That’s just one of the many important roles performed by the Good Shepherd Volunteers.
The Good Shepherd Volunteers began just 15 years ago by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. Their mission is to empower women, adolescence, and children. All the volunteers live out the four tenets of the program: community, spirituality, simplicity, and social justice. When a man or woman is accepted by the Good Shepherd Volunteers, he or she is given the responsibility to help and love others by working in agencies sponsored by the Good Shepherd. The volunteers live together, grocery shop together, pray together, and support one another in their volunteer efforts.
Social justice is an important aspect of the Good Shepherd Volunteer program. All assignments are designed to help the needy horizontally. To give horizontally means that those who have do not just give to the poor, rather, all have something to give and are encouraged to realize the gifts God has given them to share.
| People come to Good Shepherd agencies to gain assistance. The volunteers give the help needed then encourage the recipient to help others. Those in need are aware that the people helping them are volunteers. That is important. Knowing that someone is helping because they want to and not because they are being paid to be there makes an impact on those being helped. Adolescents recognize and appreciate that fact more than any other group. |
One of the positions held by a volunteer, Anne, is in the National Advocacy Center. The center is run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. Prior to joining the Good Shepherd Volunteers, Anne worked at a center in Los Angeles helping immigrants fill out legal paperwork. She wanted to affect change on a broader policy level, and she wanted to know how Washington worked. Now, as a one year volunteer, she has been given the responsibility to represent the Sisters of the Good Shepherd agencies to the House and Senate in Washington DC.
The National Advocacy Center works extensively on federal budget issues because funding cuts directly affect so many people the Good Shepherd Volunteers help. It also lobbies to help at-risk youth, abused women, and immigrants. Anne’s primary responsibility is with the immigration issues. Recently, she has been working on the “Dream Act.” It is a bill designed to help children without legal status gain access to higher education and eventually gain legal status. These children are like all others, some are at the top of their class, earning academic awards and some are just getting by. Either way, the Dream Act helps those who stay in school and graduate.
Most of the children were brought to the United States by their parents and know no other home. 65 thousand of these children graduate high school every year and cannot afford to attend college. This is creating an enormous under-educated population in America. The Dream Act allows for these children to get state and federal loans to attend college. This in turn would generate a more highly educated work force, which is likely to pay more in taxes and is less likely to receive public assistance. Currently the Dream Act has been passed in the Senate but not the House.
Anne is very proud of the work the Good Shepherd Volunteer program is allowing her to do. Through the program she has experienced something most people only hear about on the news. She is impacting lives and bringing the Catholic faith to the decision makers in Washington DC.
To learn more about the many other programs run by the Good Shepherd Volunteers, visit their website at
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