New York University's Zen approach to community service focuses on the principles of mindfulness, awareness, compassion, and engagement in the present moment. It enables a more holistic approach to the measurement of volunteer management objectives. (SK)

Interviews with 14 volunteers working in disability-related organizations identified six themes in their volunteer experiences: (1) sense of value, (2) satisfaction, (3) social integration, (4) assistance, (5) enjoyment, and (6) interest. Drawbacks to volunteering included financial costs and lack of appreciation. (Contains 28 references.) (JOW)

A national survey of volunteers for The Smith Family organization (n=426) found that 38% participate more than monthly. Higher frequency was associated with age, rural location, lower income, and career motivation. Those in full-time employment or study, had primarily social motivations, or volunteered for other organizations were less frequent.…

Episodic volunteer opportunities allow for short-term services--either one-time or recurring. The organization using such volunteers must identify new jobs that can be performed on an episodic basis or redesign traditional volunteer jobs. (SK)

Volunteers may experience grief when working with clients in life-threatening situations or having experienced personal loss. Volunteer administrators can provide support through education and recognition of potential problems. (SK)

Data comparing 7544 retired and 3496 working older adults found that retirees most likely to volunteer are female, college-educated, married, homeowners, and have high incomes. Nonretired volunteers are more likely to have high incomes and flexible work schedules and to be homeowners and college-educated. (SK)

Terrorism and its aftermath have become part of the Western way of life, and social workers have a central role to play in helping affected families and their communities. Drawing on community-based experience in Israeli communities, the authors examine the planning of multidisciplinary teams and how their planning was put into effect in their…

This article discusses involvement at conferences. There are numerous levels of being involved in one's profession, and the concept people need to understand is that there is a place and level where everyone can get involved. The following involvement levels exist: (1) volunteers; (2) committee members; (3) committee chairs; (4) state-level…

Effectively addressing student behavior, learning, and emotional problems requires greater attention to transforming what transpires in classrooms. To this end, student support staff and others who can help need to spend more time teaming with teachers in the classroom. To support such efforts, the Center for Mental Health in Schools has developed…

Giving to charities comes in two major forms: time and money. This study explores whether donors/nondonors and volunteers/nonvolunteers can be uncovered in the Taiwanese context using demographic, socio-economic, psychographic, and attitudinal variables suggested by the interdisciplinary literature. Data were collected by a large-scale telephone…

Each year in the United States, millions of students experience suspension from public schools (Mendez & Knoff, 2003). Community service programs provide one means to address the school suspension problem. These initiatives are characterized by volunteer service placements within community nonprofit organizations for skill and personal…

Classroom volunteers such as parents, preservice teachers, or community members often help provide support to teachers and their students as a way of giving back to their community or to meet college requirements for service learning or field experience hours. Because these visitors are often unable to be present in the class daily, it may be…

At our university about 40% of the full-time faculty members are 55 years of age or older, which led me to consider what a difference they could make in this world if, upon retirement, they used their knowledge, skills, and talents to benefit others. Four dimensions that can serve to differentiate effective from ineffective educators and people…

Knowing is an enacted, communicated process that is difficult to observe, let alone manage, in organizations. Communities of practice (CoPs) offer a productive solution for improving knowledge and knowledge management, but the communicative processes that enact CoPs have not been explored, leaving CoPs as an organizational black box. This research…

Social workers in diverse community practice settings recruit and work with volunteers from religious congregations. This article reports findings from two surveys: 7,405 congregants in 35 Protestant congregations, including 2,570 who were actively volunteering, and a follow-up survey of 946 volunteers. It compares characteristics of congregation…