Join a community. Alamosa’s MVS unit is located in the San Luis Valley, a high-altitude, high-poverty rural area in southern Colorado. Despite economic challenges, we are graced with prime outdoor recreation and thriving local arts, music, and food networks. The population is a blend of traditional Latino and Anglo settlers, plus newer immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala. The MVS house has four bedrooms, with a separate apartment for a couple or an additional individual. It is an easy walk or bike ride to most volunteer placements, with coffee shops, cafés, and state university campus facilities nearby. A unit car is available for other work or household needs.
Join a congregation. In 2010, the Anabaptist Fellowship of Alamosa was planted to follow God’s call to peace and justice work in the Rocky Mountain region. Central to this is providing a spiritual home for Alamosa MVS, as well as offering an inclusive and open welcome to all. Former and current volunteers are a vital part of this small lay-led fellowship, which typically meets weekly for informal worship or other fellowship activities, including a shared meal. Volunteers may also access individual spiritual/life journey sessions with a trained spiritual director on a monthly basis. The congregation embraces young adults wherever they are on their life and faith journeys and welcomes the gifts they bring.
Join a cause. The San Luis Valley includes the poorest counties in Colorado, as well as a wide expanse of natural habitats. Alamosa MVS placements revolve around food and housing insecurity, immigrant justice, restorative justice, and an overall goal to sustain healthy rural lifestyles, a strong local foods economy, and the well-being of the natural environment. Volunteer opportunities span a variety of initiatives related to these concerns. Local agencies are small, relying on and giving ample responsibility to their volunteers. “We get learning opportunities that aren’t possible in a bigger city or agency. The people who started these small nonprofits are right here and accessible to us,” one MVSer said.
