In this article, the author describes the walking school bus--a physically active and safe method in which young learners can travel to and from school while accompanied by adult volunteers. The walking school bus provides a safe and healthy way for elementary-age children to travel to and from school. Many families who live within walking…

This video provides guidelines for establishing a successful volunteer program in any library. Topics include: the benefits of volunteers to libraries; getting a volunteer program started and functioning; recruiting volunteers; interviewing volunteers; effectively training volunteers; acknowledgment of volunteers; and handling uncooperative or…

This guide, prepared for a Nevada State literacy council, provides practical information and step-by-step planning for recruiting, training, using, retaining, documenting, and recognizing volunteers. The 11 sections of the guide cover the following topics: (1) establishing goals and objectives and writing a plan; (2) identifying jobs and writing…

Papers on two projects are presented that deal with the effective use of volunteers in rural public libraries. The first paper on simplifying manual circulation techniques, explains a circulation system that volunteers in a rural library can use easily and efficiently. Setting only four due dates a month and filing all materials alphabetically in…

The Taunton, Massachusetts, Literacy Corps (TLC) is a small adult literacy education program run by a part-time director using volunteer tutors. The program has always been hampered by a shortage of funds. There are often long waiting lists for persons needing tutors because funds are inadequate to recruit, train, and manage the number of…

Based on the Association for Volunteer Administration (AVA) Certification Competencies, this book describes the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of professional managers to involve volunteers effectively in the work of organizations. Chapter 1 examines the leadership and management roles of volunteer administrators. Chapters 2 and 3 focus…

This document contains a series of materials that were developed to help adult educators involve all stakeholders (adult learners, funders, administrators, legislators) in assessing internal and external cultures (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) of an adult education organization (AEO) and then using the information gained to…

The purpose of the Calcasieu Parish (Louisiana) literacy project was twofold: (1) to pool the resources of the existing local adult education agencies in the area; and (2) to perpetuate the advancement of literacy in the area by bringing together adult education students, qualified volunteer tutors, and needed adult education materials in an…

Intended for trainers conducting preservice Peace Corps volunteer training, this manual presents materials to help trainees evolve an understanding of what role women can and do play in the developmental process and of its relationship to Peace Corps programs. An introduction discusses the design and use of the manual. The training goals are then…

This manual outlines the procedures for recruiting, preparing, scheduling, presenting, and evaluating a workshop for tutors participating in a program to help nonreaders develop job search skills. The following topics are discussed: an overview of the program; recruitment of tutors; recruitment of students; preparation for the workshop (space and…

This manual is intended to assist tutors participating in a program to help nonreaders develop job search skills. The first two sections give an overview of the program and present general guidelines for working with students. Detailed suggestions are provided for working with students in sessions addressing the following questions: Am I ready to…

This paper addresses issues important to maintaining a volunteer effort in research and evaluation studies. The Research Department of Child and Family Services, a private agency in Connecticut, conducted a statewide study of children and youth in long-term foster care. Eighty-seven volunteers, mainly from the Junior League, were recruited to…

Because low achieving kindergarten children attending a neighborhood school in the South Area of the Dade County Public School System were experiencing difficulty during independent work periods, a practicum study was designed to improve their basic skills by providing closely supervised visual, manipulative, language, and listening activities.…

This manual was developed by the staff of the Read Aloud Programs for the Elderly of the Seattle Public Library. It is based on a year's experience of conducting read-aloud programs in nursing homes and is meant to be a guide for setting up similar programs in other library systems. The first half of the manual, addressed to program managers,…

This report describes Project OASIS (Older Adults Sharing Important Skills), a project designed to provide paraprofessional mental health services to nursing home residents by providing training for older adult volunteers in areas related to mental health and the elderly, supervision by OASIS staff, and consultation by staff. The background of the…