The first IVY meeting was held on October 1, 2005 at East Shore Unitarian Church. The youth leaders present at the council table wrote the following mission statement and creed to guide the growth of their collective vision.

Mission

To discover, understand, and respect differences and diversity in order to seek reconciliation between cultures and faiths in order to provide a more dynamic learning environment in which expression and sharing are nurtured and encouraged…worldwide.

Vision

We as members of the IVY will spread the word of love, acceptance, and peace to our youth groups, our churches, our communities, our nation, and our world.

We will bridge the divides between our faiths and cultures.

We will provide a youth-oriented perspective to the largely adult-dominated interfaith community.

We will grow as people and support others in their growth.

We will recognize our similarities in order to better learn about each other and ourselves.

We will unite in order to bring interfaith activities centered on social justice, spiritual exploration and interaction to our communities.

We will support each other in building each other’s youth programs.

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of IVY is to provide a framework within which committed youth of all backgrounds can explore their personal spirituality through direct contacts with the faith traditions of others, strengthen their own religious roots, and act as agents of positive, healing change in the world by building bridges of understanding and compassion to youth and adults of all faiths.