Volunteer Corps

The ATD Fourth World Volunteer Corps is a very diverse group of people who receive the same modest stipend, join a team rather than fill a position and who share a passion for learning and being shaped as individuals and as a group by a close partnership with people and communities facing the injustice of poverty.

By joining the Volunteer Corps for a mission of a few years or for much longer, people from all walks of life, educational backgrounds, cultures, and experience implement and develop ATD Fourth World’s programs. They gradually expand their knowledge of the experience of poverty, their relationship with people facing it, and their understanding of the ATD Fourth World organization and work culture. This process challenges who they are and how they act in a way that brings personal and collective growth in addition to a meaningful and sustainable impact on the communities they work with.

This learning journey expands the horizon of those who embark on it. Volunteer Corps members have opportunities to live in different cities or continents according to their assignments and development in the organization. The assignments are very diverse too, pushing them out of their comfort zone regularly in order to provide exposure to new experiences and opportunity to develop a wide range of soft and hard skills - from local grassroots organizing to international advocacy to administrative roles to running cutting edge participatory action-research projects. On the course of this journey, they collaborate with others in culturally diverse teams, using innovative ways to make decisions and build a community that leaves no one aside. The fact that all the Volunteer Corps members living in the same country receive the same stipend, regardless of their role and responsibilities, supports this search for equality and collaboration.

The modest stipend they receive, while allowing enough for a dignified daily life, is also a stand against overconsumption, the socio-economic competition that drives it and how they impact human relationships and the environment. Having equal pay is a response to ethical questions about what is of real value in the workforce, who is essential, and what conditions are needed to make a living.

Joining the ATD Fourth World Volunteer Corps is a meaningful way to engage concretely and with others in some of today’s most pressing global challenges. 

The first step of the process is an internship with very basic compensation. ATD Fourth World is currently receiving applications from applicants already living in New Mexico or New York City. If you are interested, contact our local team here.

For more information about the International Volunteer Corps, please click here.