The Volunteers in Public Schools program in Volusia County (Florida) has brought expertise from the community to the classrooms, enabled school districts to stretch their resources, and generated support for the schools. The ways in which the program recruits, trains, utilizes, and recognizes its volunteers are discussed. (MLF)

The author discusses the use of retired individuals as volunteers in special education. Sections address common needs and interests of retired volunteers, considerations in recruitng volunteers, procedures for writing job descriptions, and volunteer training. (SBH)

The article offers suggestions for recruiting, training, utilizing, scheduling, and retaining senior citizen volunteers in the special education classroom. (DB)

Describes the Teen Hot Line, developed in response to the large apparent need for teens to talk with their peers about emergent needs and issues. A comprehensive and meaningful training program, combined with a high level of acceptance among the general youth population, has resulted in a valuable service for both the client callers and the…

A survey of 92 volunteer members of boards, committees, and commissions in Carson City, Nevada, received 79 responses. The most important training areas cited were as follows: identification of issues, understanding of community resources, group process, parliamentary procedure and liability, and listening skills. (SK)

A survey of 754 older adults serving as ombudsmen in nursing facilities found that formal education and follow-up training enhanced efficacy. Negative initial training was the most important influence on diminished efficacy. Those with higher efficacy and more positive initial training expressed less worry. (SK)

Describes a series of training modules and a process for volunteer advisory boards to assess the current degree to which their organizational structure, policies, and programs are inclusive for diverse audiences. Includes illustrations and assessment tools in 13 appendices. (JOW)

In a nation where 42 percent of children live in low-income families, too many schools face the challenge of teaching students burdened with unmet needs that pose obstacles to learning. Community schools that align schools and community resources are a promising strategy for improving student outcomes by providing wraparound services that meet the…

Generally, the Global Tibetan Professional Network of North America (GTPN-NA) considers lack of skills a problem among adult Tibetan immigrants. The GTPN-NA is a non-profit, volunteer-based networking forum focusing on Tibetan professionals and students from North America. By skills education, it means skills that may help support the transition…

Schools flush with students' parents showing up and helping out have long been the envy of those where classrooms echo on back-to-school night. But in recent years, incidents reported in the news media have dabbed shadows on that glowing picture of parent involvement, raising issues about whether demanding adults have made teachers' jobs harder…

This article profiles Lyn McNaught, who retired in 2004 after more than thirty-five years as a teacher and Director of the Horizons Student Enrichment Program. McNaught's legacy of community service remains with her successors and the benefactors who continue to support the growing Horizons educational programs in New Canaan, Connecticut, and…

We investigated the extent to which a contingency management (CM) procedure that deducted money from a grand total available at the end of the study compared to a procedure in which money accumulated with continued abstinence from cigarette smoking. Results suggested that the procedure in which money increased contingent on abstinence resulted in…

Most university students in China have their sights firmly set on future job and study opportunities in urban cities and abroad. However, a network of student volunteers felt compelled to join the cause of rural development and villager empowerment, reminiscent of efforts promoted forty years ago by Chairman Mao who sent "educated youth"…

Religious organizations offer a potentially rich pool of caring adults who are driven by their own spiritual commitments and a strong ethic to serve others. Indeed, more Americans volunteer through religious organizations than through any other venue. Religious organizations account for half of all volunteering, with an estimated 60 percent of the…