Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) are institutions for inducing firms to produce environmental goods beyond legal requirements. A comparative perspective on VEPs shows how incentives to sponsor and participate in VEPs vary across countries in ways that reveal their potential and limitations. Our brief survey examines conditions under which…

The Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxins (ARET) Challenge was a voluntary program initiated in 1994 by the Government of Canada. Unlike the U.S. 33/50 Program, ARET involved industry partners in negotiation and cosponsorship of the program, with the intention that early involvement would yield stronger commitment to voluntary reductions. We…

The Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) Summer Associates program enabled 708 people to work full time in low-income areas with 33 existing VISTA sponsors throughout the country for 8-10 weeks in direct service roles performing counseling, tutoring, community outreach, office work, surveys, and home construction. Associates served an average…

An educational peace fair held at Clark University was successful in convincing individuals that they could do something to help prevent nuclear war; however, it revealed that the current peace movement was unable to portray convincingly a course of national action that could promote peace and justice. (Author/BJV)

This report examines the management of three areas related to the preparation of volunteers for Peace Corps service: staging, pre-service training, and attrition. The introduction summarizes the activities undertaken by the review. Chapter 2 focuses on staging, which is variously intended to provide country orientation, information about Peace…

An evaluation of the VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) Literacy Corps was conducted to provide a description of the Literacy Corps, numbers of persons served, strategies used, volunteer activities, and project results; to determine the degree to which the program is meeting its goals; and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the…

The Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program was evaluated from the standpoint of its impact on three groups: VISTA volunteers, communities served by VISTA sponsors, and sponsoring organizations to which VISTA volunteers are assigned. Survey questionnaires were sent to 1,250 of the 3,400 VISTA volunteers currently in service, 494 current…

This report reviews the progress of demonstration projects that reduce refugee welfare dependency, promote earlier refugee employment and self-sufficiency, and foster coordination among public and private agencies that work with refugees. The projects used the following three methods: (1) removing welfare provisions that took away some cash…

Prison Fellowship Ministries' church and community based Transition of Prisoners (TOP) program in Detroit is examined. TOP mobilizes, trains, and equips primarily African-American churches and volunteers to assist ex-offenders to successfully reintegrate into their community. Preliminary outcome data suggest that participation in TOP reduces need…

Project Redirection was designed to help pregnant and parenting adolescents progress toward eventual self-sufficiency by linking them with community agencies and volunteers at four geographically and ethnically diverse sites in the United States. Distinctive features of the program include: (1) a broad scope of services including employability…

Project Redirection was designed to help pregnant and parenting adolescents progress toward eventual self-sufficiency by linking them with community agencies and volunteers at four geographically and ethnically diverse sites in the United States (in Boston; New York City; Phoenix, Arizona; and Riverside, California). Distinctive features of the…

This report examines the service delivery and institutionalization of experiences of seven programs in various cities using the Project Redirection model, which helps pregnant and parenting adolescents progress toward eventual self-sufficiency by linking them with community agencies and volunteers. This evaluation focuses on innovations in service…

Project Redirection was designed to help pregnant and parenting adolescents progress toward eventual self-sufficiency by linking them with community agencies and volunteers at four geographically and ethnically diverse sites in the United States. Distinctive features of the program include: (1) a broad scope of services including employability…

This report presents the findings of an evaluation of goal accomplishment at Young Volunteers in Action (YVA) projects at three sites: ALexander City, Alabama; Gainesville, Florida; and New Orleans, Louisiana. First, a brief introduction describes the YVA program and discusses the evaluation approach. The next three sections present case studies…

The policy agenda of the UK government has repositioned the voluntary sector as a key player in the delivery of locally responsive, "bottom up" services to address the complex problems of social exclusion, reaching out to sectors of the community which are beyond the grasp of traditional state or market providers. This has drawn many…