About CNVS : History

Hearts Home

Begun in the Catholic Archdiocese of Newark (New Jersey) in 1963, CNVS was originally known as the Newark Liaison Foreign and Domestic Lay Apostolate. Fr. George Mader, a priest of the Archdiocese, petitioned then Archbishop Thomas Boland, for permission to begin a “Church Peace Corps” after his sister, Patricia, had served for a year as a volunteer in Farmville, North Carolina with the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart. He wanted to promote such lay volunteer service and to encourage others to support it.

The first issue of RESPONSE, a directory of faith-based volunteer opportunities, was published in 1965 (and continues to this day). In 1971, the organization, by then known as Newark International Liaison, was first listed in the Official Catholic Directory. Two years later, International Liaison became a “coalition” of various mission agencies, the purpose of which was to act as an instrument through which policies might be recommended and issues discussed.

In 1975, the organization, by then called the International Liaison for Lay Volunteer Ministry (ILLVM), moved to Washington, DC. That same year, Bishop Joseph Francis, SVD, auxiliary bishop of Newark, became the organization’s Episcopal Advisor, a role he carried out until his death in 1997. In 1978, ILLVM hosted its first annual conference. In 1982, the organization’s name was changed to the International Liaison of Lay Volunteers in Mission (ILLVIM). The Father George Mader Award was instituted in 1988, in honor of the founder, to recognize individuals or groups that have been exemplary in fostering lay volunteer service.

In its thirtieth anniversary year, 1993, the organization once again changed its name to Catholic Network of Volunteer Service (CNVS). In 1998, CNVS was awarded a federal grant to administer AmeriCorps Education Awards for volunteers in its member programs. By 2000, membership in CNVS was comprised of 200 lay volunteer programs, of which about 80% were Catholic and the remainder from various other Christian traditions.

By 2003, CNVS recorded more than 10,000 volunteers in its annual membership survey. That same year, CNVS celebrated its fortieth anniversary and moved its national office to Takoma Park, Maryland, where it remains at present.

Today, we continue our mission of promoting lay volunteer service and supporting programs that sponsor volunteers through training, networking and advocacy.

To find out about membership opportunities for faith-based volunteer programs, please click here.

To find out more about volunteer opportunities, click here.