Letter from the desk of John Knauer
John (top right) with NOLA cohort at the Barataria Preserve
By John Knauer, NDMV Alum ‘10-’12 and Director of Impact & Grant Management
When I signed up to serve with Notre Dame Mission Volunteers in 2010, I thought I was just pressing pause for a year—a chance to figure out what came next after graduation. What I ended up finding were people and experiences that reshaped how I understand community and purpose. When I look back, what stands out aren’t big, dramatic moments. It’s the people. The ones who quietly put community first, showed up consistently, listened well, and made space for others to grow.
After a MidYear Conference in 2011, I weighed my options: either seek full-time employment in Cincinnati or commit to a second year of service in New Orleans while completing my Peace Corps application. I was excited about the second option, but unsure to the point I imagined every reason not to take a leap.
I reached out to my Site Manager at the time, Nancy, who listened to my options and shared her own experience serving abroad. What she said next is something I’ve carried with me ever since:
“If you’re thinking about it now, the thought will always be there. So if you don’t do it now… when will you?”
It wasn’t a push, but an invitation to trust the pull I was feeling. And that invitation, from someone who genuinely put community first, changed everything.
I decided to take a leap of faith. It led me first to New Orleans, a city still rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, where I worked alongside families restoring their homes and their sense of stability. A year later, another leap carried me across the world to Madagascar, where neighbors welcomed me like family and guided me with generosity as I learned a new culture and language. I made my share of missteps, but each one taught me something about patience, persistence, and what it means to stay committed.
Those lessons were challenged when NDMV lost the majority of its AmeriCorps funding after thirty years. It was a difficult moment. But it reminded me of what I learned during my service year: uncertainty can reveal courage I didn’t realize I had. And just as Nancy asked me fifteen years ago, we as an organization had to ask ourselves:
If not now… then when?
And our members have responded with grace and determination. In the first three months of this service year alone, they’ve supported over 60 pre-kindergarten students in school readiness, more than 650 K–12 students in academic support, 170 adult learners in job readiness programs, helped more than 120 access health services, and distributed over 180,000 pounds of food to more than 3,000 people. Every one of those numbers represents a person who felt a little more hopeful because someone chose to take a courageous leap of faith.
As we near the end of the year, it's a good time to reflect on our values and the principles we stand by during uncertain times. If you believe in this mission and in the community that fosters courageous leadership, now is the time to take action.
After all, if not now, then when?
Please consider donating to NDMV! Your support ensures that this mission doesn’t just continue, it grows. It fuels the “Love in Action” that has defined NDMV for 35 years and enables the next generation of volunteers to face uncertainty with courage.
