College reunion success depends on careful planning, including (1) starting early; (2) documenting all planning efforts; (3) motivating, including, and communicating with volunteers; (4) using formal and informal meeting time effectively; (5) providing a program highlighting events planned; (6) freeing staff to be volunteer-reliant; and (7)…

Discusses ways to create partnerships between volunteers and child care programs. Focuses on recruitment and screening, empowering volunteers, and creating a positive climate by facilitating a team spirit. (KB)

Investigates long-term recidivism among a group of federal inmates trained as volunteer prison ministers. Inmates participated in a two-week seminar on religious faith and leadership. Seminars were most effective with lower-risk subjects, white subjects, and especially women. Findings suggest that religious programming may contribute to the…

The December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami wrecked thousands of lives, homes, and livelihoods--losses that could have been avoided with timely and better information. A resource such as information is needed at a fundamental level much like water, food, medicine, or shelter. This dissertation examines the development of the Thai information…

We obtained data from 124 volunteer instructors in adult literacy, using an instrument developed to assess what the volunteers knew about providing reading instruction to adults. Results showed that volunteers with bachelor's degrees or higher and those who had teacher's certificates were significantly more knowledgeable about providing reading…

A "good society" has recently been portrayed as one in which citizens engage in voluntary associations to foster democratic processes. Arguably, such a good society is considered as one where people are content with their own lives as well as public life. We consider whether participation in civil society leads to more satisfied…

Describes a study of the attitudes of 4-H volunteer leaders towards involving handicapped youth in their programs. (JOW)

Employed women are and will be the major source of 4-H volunteers, and increased planning is essential to meet their needs. The future of volunteerism will be limited only by the ability of professionals to tailor programs to the expanding population of employed women. (JOW)

Virtually every study of tutoring in reading has found it to be highly effective, but the reasons for its effectiveness are relatively unexplored. We built on a small body of research on the tutoring process in reading and a large body of research from other well-defined domains by collecting and analyzing verbal protocols from 3 more experienced…

In every sector of our society, volunteers are being called upon to do more. In schools, for example, parents raise funds for equipment, supplies, and sometimes even teachers. They also step in to provide programs that schools feel they can no longer afford. In many ways, volunteers provide the skills, energy, and commitment necessary to keep…

Recent research has demonstrated that older adult volunteers are more likely to be involved in relationship building with young people who are in difficult situations, in periods of transition, and in educational endeavors than volunteers of younger ages. Research also suggests that nurturing, giving to, and serving others contributes to greater…

Participation of beneficiaries in the monitoring of public services is increasingly seen as a key to improving their efficiency. In India, the current government flagship program on universal primary education organizes both locally elected leaders and parents of children enrolled in public schools into committees and gives these groups powers…

Several studies have argued that learning a foreign language has the potential to increase the general cognitive ability and test scores of students. In this analysis, the Mormon missionary program is used to test whether or not students who were assigned to learn a foreign language performed better in college. The results indicate that the…