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(812) 423-1183
Service
Since 1988 MVS has been one of the programs of Patchwork Central, an intentional community in Evansville, Indiana. Volunteer assignments have included the following: ministry to people with AIDS; leadership of a peer micro-loan program; nurse in a free clinic; art teacher in the After-School Children's Program; tutor; peace activist and monitor of nuclear fuel shipments; and outreach worker in the neighborhood around Patchwork Central.
Location
Evansville is located on the Ohio River in the well-watered agricultural region of southwest Indiana. Evansville city proper has about 120,000 inhabitants; the surrounding region has a population of 350,000. The city boosts a fine philharmonic orchestra, an excellent system of public libraries, an active art museum, two universities, and plentiful shopping. The climate is equable: after a moderate winter, the spring can be long and pleasant, the summer hot and humid, and the fall dry and lovely. The Shawnee
National Forest is a 2-hour drive to the west; to the east, hikers can head towards the Hoosier National Forest and to the caverns and caves that have formed in the limestone rocks of central Indiana. St. Louis is a little less than 3 hours to the west; Nashville about 2 hours to the south; Louisville 2 hours to the east. Though Evansville is not a large city, its residents face several common urban problems, including limited employment opportunities, and insufficient programs for health and housingy.
About Patchwork
Patchwork Central is both a place and the people who work in that place. For 30 years now, Patchwork has provided programming for people in this Evansville neighborhood; that programming has included children's after-school art, tutoring, music, and garden programs; free clinics (currently an AIDS clinic and a hispanic clinic); an Emergency Food Pantry; a Neighborhood Economic Development Center; bicycle programs; summer art programs; dance programs; community art programs, and much more. The leadership for those programs has come from volunteers, staff members, as well as the community at Patchwork. Every Thursday the Community gathers to share a pot-luck meal; Sunday evenings bring people together for informal, non-denominational worship and a shared meal. The common life of the Community includes work days and celebrations in addition to Sunday services. Community members are intentional about developing their life of faith and pursuing the path of peace with others of the community and with the greater world community. MVSers are encouraged to enter into the life of the Patchwork Community as fully as they are able. A committee of Patchwork folks serves as the support group and local program coordinator (LPC) of the Evansville MVS unit. |
