GSV Toolkit for Alumni & Partners:
A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

Good Shepherd Volunteers is a nonprofit organization that connects recent college graduates to one-year, full time volunteer opportunities serving women, children, and adolescents affected by poverty, violence, and neglect. Developing relationships with under-resourced communities empowers volunteers to grow in a knowledge and faith that inspires them to lead a life of seeking justice through action. GSV has placements in New York, New Jersey and the Washington D.C. area (with more to come!) in a variety of fields: public policy and advocacy, economic justice, youth counseling, foster care and education, among others.

This toolkit is meant to serve as an aid for all our partners looking to grow the community through recruitment support. Please ensure you're signed up for our email list to keep up to date with all things GSV.

How Alumni & Community Partners can support GSV Recruitment

Be a part of GSV's future

Our network of alumni and partners across the country is pivotal to spreading word of the GSV program. By adding your voice, you can help emphasize the importance of volunteer service and communal values at a time of critical division in our nation. The landscape of choice for a year of service may be dwindling, but Good Shepherd Volunteers is committed to staying an option for young adults called to serve in the human-centric fields that matter most. With your help, we can extend the impact of GSV–from recruiting larger cohort sizes to opening new placement sites–making it possible for volunteers to support more youth, families, and children than ever before.

We welcome you to engage with GSV however you see fit. You know your time, experience, and network better than anyone else. We are happy to hear your ideas and to collaborate wherever possible.

Here are a few suggestions to get things started:

Follow and share GSV social media posts
Join an upcoming Virtual Meet & Greet
Write a blog post for our website
Share our brochure with the young people in your life
Represent GSV at your local college service fair
Connect us with the career center at your alma mater
Participate on our admissions committee
Host a regional alumni event

Key Messages

How to talk about Good Shepherd Volunteers

Good Shepherd Volunteers is a 501(c)(3) with over 30 years of service to women, adolescents and children experiencing violence, poverty and neglect
Four tenets guide the work of GSV: Community, Social Justice, Spirituality, and Simplicity
GSV was formed in 1992 by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd and remains connected to the Good Shepherd network today
All backgrounds and identities are welcome
The GSV network has expanded to include 350+ alumni from around the world
GSV champions placement sites in education, foster care, juvenile justice, trauma-informed care, non-profit development, and public policy & advocacy at the local, national and international level
GSV honors the core values of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd: individual dignity, mercy, reconciliation and zeal

Read more about each tenet and find our Statement of Inclusive Values on the "About" page.

Placement Sites & Recruitment

GSV creates meaningful, reciprocal connections between young people passionate about social responsibility and non-profit organizations serving vulnerable populations. Our placement sites cover a broad spectrum of social issues and demographics, with many offering the opportunity for inter-disciplinary exploration in the field of human services. The challenge comes in communicating that a GSV can gain experience with multiple themes (such as public policy, family services, and education) at each site, regardless of the institution type with which they serve.

You can help young people envision themselves at a placement site they never considered. Share stories from your time as a GSV, link to our filterable blog, encourage them to follow our social media, or even connect them to our team directly. We're more than happy to have an exploratory conversation with all potential GSVs. You can also direct them to Idealist, LinkedIn, Handshake, or our "current opportunities" page to see the most up-to-date opportunities.

GSV Recruitment Brochure Exterior - For Wix.png

Sharing GSV Materials

Our most commonly used recruitment assets are shared via downloadable links below. Alternatively, we invite you to use our logo and messaging to create materials best tailored to your personal outreach.

Ideas for sharing GSV recruitment materials:

Spread them at a regional community function
Add them to your local church bulletin
Pass them along to the service coordinator or career center at nearby colleges or universities
Hang one on your fridge for friends and family to see
Keep a copy on the communal bulletin board in the work breakroom
Include digital copies in your community's next virtual newsletter

See the "Sample Messages" section below for more ideas tailored to social-media.

Individual Asset Downloads

GSV Recruitment Brochure Interior - August 2025.png

GSV Recruitment Brochure Exterior - August 2025.png

Tri-Fold Brochure

Core Logos

Recruitment Postcard

GSV Recruitment Inquiry Form QR Code.jpg

Interest Form QR Code

*Click image above to enlarge & save

Linktree QR Code

*Click image above to enlarge & save

Looking for something else?

Sample Messages

Our goal is to make recruitment support easy, so we've come up with a few ideas to help GSV messaging blend directly into your usual content. You know your network best, so please feel free to adjust and get creative!

#ThrowbackThurday: Tailor a #TBT to your time serving with GSV, highlighting how volunteering brought you to where you are today
Keeping up with the "Kommunity": Share the personal successes of GSV alumni new and old, connecting your communities and re-emphasizing the value of a network rooted in shared experience and values
Alma Mater Material: Grab your old GSV swag and hold a mini photoshoot in iconic locations at your undergrad campus, tagging GSV and your alma mater in the results
Holiday Helper: As you think about giving back during the holidays, highlight GSV to help reach students home on break combatting the "what next" question from family and friends
Birthday Reflections: Launch a birthday fundraiser and make GSV your charity of choice, tying your alumni experience into your wisened reflections on life
Story Engagement: Keep your followers in-the-know by sharing our upcoming recruitment events and Meet & Greet sessions to your stories
Then vs Now: Highlight where it started vs how it's going, recreating your old favorite photos as a GSV. (Bonus points if you can bring multiple community-mates together!)

For the Advocate: Keep your audience up to date about current events, tying in the way your hands-on volunteer experience formed your early understanding of social justice issues (and what YOU can do about them)
For the Minimalist: Share the sustainability resources you were introduced to as a GSV (think anti-food waste apps, fashion-transparency websites, or worker's rights scorecards, just to name a few)
For the Chef: Recreate one of your community's most memorable budget-friendly meals, sharing the story of how single-ingredient foods became a staple of your everyday routine
For the DIY-er: When posting updates on your next project, share a glimpse into your early experiences DIY-ing your GSV apartment to make it feel a little more like home
For the Vlogger: Join one of GSV's in-person events and talk to our volunteers, staff, and other alumni, sharing a day in your life as a proud GSV alum