The self-help University of the Third Age (U3A) is an adult education approach for older people in which all the teaching and administration is carried out by unpaid volunteers. The purpose of this study was to reveal some of the successful ageing characteristics of the 205 independent U3As in Australia and the 60 independent U3As in New Zealand…

Volunteer groups improve the life of residents of New York's Harlem district. (CK)

The article describes VISION Foundation, a self-help program providing work opportunities for both paid and volunteer persons who are newly blind or have progressive eye diseases. (Author/DLS)

Describes Project HELP, an innovative community self-help program in Nashville, Tennessee which was developed in response to the inability of certain populations to pay their utility bills, and which is staffed primarily with volunteers and funded exclusively through contributions. Reports on the program's first five years of operation, and…

Self-help programs, with visually impaired older adult participants who are both the consumers and providers of the programs they initiate, provide services such as a setting for learning new skills, a telephone support network self-help groups, and information and referral service. (MC)

Describes the experience of a group of relatively impaired, institutionalized elderly in a program of volunteer service to their peers. The focus of discussion is upon the volunteer group itself, its weekly group meetings, and the meaning that this kind of group experience has had for its members. (Author)

Outlines the development of a self-directed manual to aid in building portfolios, and reports on the evaluation of portfolios' effectiveness in presenting competencies. A portfolio of volunteer/unpaid administrative experiences has demonstrated validity and reliability in presenting skills to prospective employers. (Author)

Examines four methods of service delivery in social work: case management, social support, self-help, and voluntarism. Considers methods in the context of present attitudes toward social programs. Argues that useful but modest service delivery methods are not substitutes for bold solutions to social problems. (Author/NB)

Profiles Lane Community College's use of the quality circle concept to raise quality while holding down costs, whereby a voluntary group of 12 employees working in the same department meet one hour per week to identify, analyze, and solve work-related problems and implement solutions proposed to and approved by management. (DMM)

Recently, interest has increased in self-help groups, lay referral networks, social support networks, natural helpers, and others which may be placed under a single conceptual umbrella--socially indigenous help--because they all deal with the issue of how people use other people, social groups, and lay institutions to alleviate problems in living,…

Outlines the evaluation of a suburban hotline. Among its foci is the interrelationship between the growth and development of a core group of youthful phone aides and that of the organization as a whole. (Author/AM)

This guidebook is part of a series of publications about public/private partnerships. The guidebook has a three-fold goal: (1) Spark the aging network's interest in developing and expanding public/private partnerships in volunteerism; (2) Provide guidance on how to create such partnerships; and (3) Share examples of partnerships that other aging…

Trends and countertrends abound around the basic question, "Who can be a helper?" This article deals with the characteristics of effective helpers and draws together a broad range of recent thought on questions concerning professionalism, status, and counseling competencies. (Author)

The extension staff handbook of ideas for young families consists of five sections: Young Family Profile, Identifying Young Families, Involving Young Families, Educational Approaches, and Keys to Successful Young Family Programs. The young family of the seventies goes beyond the traditional definition of family and reflects varied life styles,…

A New Mexico foundation helps primarily Hispanic and American Indian communities restore adobe churches by supplying technical assistance and matching grants. Community leadership of the projects enhances volunteer commitment. The projects build community cohesiveness and pride, maintain local culture, foster intergenerational relations, teach…