Amate House is currently accepting applications for the 2012-2013 Program Year! Please click here to download the application.
Our early deadline is February 1, 2012. The final deadline is April 1, 2012, or until the program fills. Acceptance into the Volunteer program is offered on a rolling basis, so applicants will learn about their timeline for being informed about a final decision of acceptance during their interview.
Full-time volunteers at Amate House must be between the ages of 21-29.
Amate House is currently specifically designed as a program to serve young adults. Prospective volunteers for the full-time volunteer houses should have a college degree or equivalent life experience. Furthermore, prospective volunteers should be open and interested in living in community, with a commitment to live simply, to share and explore their faith life, and to serve in the inner-city of Chicago. Amate House is an agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. Volunteers need not be Catholic, but they must exhibit a willingness and commitment to participate in a Catholic program.
4. What is the Application process?
The application process is handled on a rolling basis. Once we receive an application, we begin to process it and will contact the candidate to follow up about scheduling an interview. In-person interviews begin in December, and Skype interviews will start in January. Interviews typically are conducted with two members of the Amate House Staff. We encourage potential volunteers to come to Chicago to interview, because it offers the possibility of meeting us and some of our Volunteers. Early applications are recommended for priority site placement. Acceptance into the Volunteer program is offered on a rolling basis, so applicants will learn about their timeline for being informed about a final decision of acceptance during their interview.
Once the application and interview process is completed and we have received all references, a decision about acceptance will be made by the Amate House staff.
In order to make these selections, several factors are considered, such as: readiness for community living, commitment to a personal faith journey and openness to personal growth, past experience with volunteer service, willingness to work with others of different cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, commitment to social justice, and openness to living simply. As the volunteer houses are filled each year, we also consider the balance of personalities in the group of accepted volunteers.
Once a volunteer is accepted into Amate House, we begin the site selection process. Based on their preferences and skills, the volunteer chooses from a list of our service sites, and then site interviews are set up with at least 3 possible sites. The site interview process continues until a good match is found, that is, when both the incoming volunteer and the site are excited about the prospects of working together. Again, we encourage volunteers to come to Chicago to do the site interviews, in order to get a first-hand experience of the site and the people who work there. Skype or phone interviews are also possible if travel to Chicago is not feasible. However, there are a few sites that require in person interviews.
Amate House volunteers work in both elementary and high schools, parishes, and social service agencies throughout Chicago. Upon acceptance into the program, Volunteers will be emailed a list of prospective sites that they can choose to interview with.
We strongly encourage prospective volunteers to come to Chicago to interview, simply because it offers the possibility of meeting us, seeing the living space, and possibly even a few sites, first-hand. However, we understand that travel is not always financially feasible, and so Skype interviews are also possible.
House placement is determined by a variety of factors - where your service site is located, gender balance of the communities, and variety of personalities and life experiences. We currently have three houses in the city of Chicago. Amate House North, hosting a community of 9-14 men and women is located at St. Mary of the Lake Parish. The immediate neighborhood, Uptown, is a diverse, urban environment. Little Village House, for volunteers interested in a Spanish speaking environment, is located in the primarily-Mexican immigrant community of Little Village, or "La Villita," which is just southwest of downtown Chicago. This community hosts 6-9 men and women. Amate House South, located in McKinley Park, hosts 10-13 volunteers.
Each Amate House volunteer receives 2 weeks of vacation (10 days) between August and June. The vacation can be taken, for the most part, at any time, provided arrangements are worked out with the volunteer site placement and the Amate House staff. Typically, those working on school calendars take their two weeks during the Christmas/New Year's break. Other volunteers have chosen to stay over the holidays and haven taken their vacation at other points during the year. Volunteers are asked to schedule their vacation around Amate House and work commitments.
We highly encourage volunteers to be in community, especially at the beginning of the year. Generally, leaving for a weekend is not a problem for Amate House Volunteers. However, a few factors must be considered on any given weekend in discerning whether going away would be wise and acceptable. First, some sites require occasional or regular work on weekends. Second, you will be living in community, and the only way relationships are built and fostered is by spending time together. Leaving on weekends frequently can compromise a commitment to community. Third, occasional Amate House events are scheduled on weekend days. These dates are typically given out at the beginning of the volunteer year. In any case, volunteers are encouraged to check their work and Amate House calendars, as well as to confer with their fellow community members when making plans to leave for the weekend.
The Amate Houses North and South, as well as Little Village, are former convent buildings and rectories that once housed religious sisters and priests working in nearby schools and parishes. They are large with individual bedrooms, and common bathrooms, shower rooms, kitchens, dining rooms and living rooms. Individual rooms typically have a bed, nightstand, chair, closet, sink and mirror.
Amate House volunteers make the commitment to 'live simply' over the course of their volunteer year. Many different motivations and reasons might exist among the group of volunteers each year for living more simply, and many conversations will ensue as to what that commitment means.
Amate House encourages the effort to live more simply primarily as a way to prompt deeper reflection on faith, lifestyle choices, and the effects of living in a wealthy, consumer culture, as well as to encourage solidarity with those whom we serve during the year. The commitment to live more simply during the year typically will have implications for how money is spent individually and communally, how time is spent, and what values are lived out and reflected in the communal life.
Volunteers who complete a year at Amate House often say that their experience of living in community with other volunteers was the most unexpectedly rewarding part of the year… and also the most challenging. Living together with peers that you have not chosen – and learning to love and appreciate them for who they are - can be immensely challenging and surprisingly rewarding for the one who is open to the learning and the gifts that community living brings. Developing deep, transparent and mutual relationships is a lot of fun AND a lot of hard work. The relationships, experiences and skills that arise out of the commitment to "do community well" last a lifetime. In addition, the community that surrounds you as a volunteer at Amate House will be your sounding board, your support, and your constant dialogue partner to enable the most fruitful year possible.
Amate House covers the transportation of volunteers to their volunteer work sites. Amate House owns some vehicles for volunteer transportation. Many volunteers also take public transportation to and from work.
Each volunteer community works together to plan its menu and shopping choices. There are typically a number of vegetarians or those with specific food needs among the group of volunteers, and arrangements are worked out among the community to attend to those particular needs and cravings!
Each Amate House volunteer receives a monthly stipend of $100, as well as a year-end, one-time stipend of $500. The volunteer's room and board, food, health insurance, and transportation to and from work are provided by Amate House; stipend money does not need to be used for these purposes. Stipend money is usually used by volunteers to pay cell phone bills, personal use of Amate House cars, purchases which are strictly for personal use, and for socializing.
We have been a member of the CVN/Americorps Education Awards program for the past several years, and will continue to be as long as the money which supports Americorps is passed through Congress each yea. The Americorps Education Awards program enables each volunteer to obtain an educational voucher worth $5,325 at the completion of 1700 hours of volunteer service and education and training. The voucher can be applied towards past student loans or towards future education. Typically, the Amate House volunteer well surpasses the required total in their 10 or so months of service, and we are pleased to make this available to Amate House volunteers each year as long as it is made available to our program. Note: This program is subject to federal funding and is not guaranteed.
19. How safe will I be where I am living and working?
Since 1984, Amate House volunteers have had only a handful of problems in which health and safety have been significantly jeopardized. This is an amazing track record for over 20 years of residing and working in a major urban center like Chicago. The places where Amate House volunteers reside are safe, secured and well-lit. Living closely with other peers enables an added degree of safety and accountability.
Because Amate House is committed to serving those neighborhoods, schools, and organizations that are most in need, our volunteers are often working in areas that have histories of socioeconomic and other social problems. While this cannot be glossed over, our volunteers' work is done almost exclusively during the daytime hours, and work sites are very committed to providing a safe work environment for volunteers. These things, in addition to the vigilance of Amate House staff, make for a good track record of safety. Our staff and board would never allow a volunteer to be put in a situation that threatened his/her safety.
In general, as with life in any urban setting, a basic awareness of oneself and one's surroundings, and a little common sense, go a long way towards making a person much safer.
Amate House volunteers meet once a week, on Wednesday nights, for Community Night. Community Night involves a business meeting, dinner, and some type of activity in the evening. Every Wednesday evening we either bring in a guest speaker, do some type of focused reflection or workshop together, or spend some social time together as a group. In addition to Wednesday nights, volunteers also meet once a week in their communities, for a prayer night. Amate House has a number of events outside the normal calendar, such as workshops, fundraisers, and other social or holiday activities. These events are on the calendar well in advance.
That's up to you, certainly. The truth about your desire to do faith-based volunteer service is a good place to start. However, there are some things about Amate House and volunteering for a year that can help uneasy parents settle into the idea a bit more:
1) SAFETY: Your safety is held in very high regard at Amate House. All of our houses are located in urban neighborhoods. Over the past 20 years, we have had less than a handful of safety issues with our volunteers. You will not be expected nor encouraged to put yourself at risk. Our orientation session includes a discussion on safety.
2) EXPERIENCE: The experiences that you will have over the course of a year at Amate House will be very significant and helpful in preparing you for whatever you choose to do next. Your Grad School experience will be greatly enhanced by such hands-on life and work experience, not to mention that Grad School Admissions folks will appreciate what you have done. Future employers will be thrilled to have someone whose interests and awareness go beyond "just work," and who has shown the ability to confront challenging situations and the initiative to take the road less traveled.
3) PERSONAL FULFILLMENT AND GROWTH: You will grow as a person. You will find your faith challenged, stretched and deepened. You will be living with wonderful people who will support, challenge, and encourage you. You will be doing what you most want to do with your life.
4) MONEY: You will be eligible to receive an Americorps Education Awards Voucher towards past student loans or future education.