Oberlin College's alumni association group for gay and lesbian alumni provides a case study in setting up new affiliates. Comprehensive and practical guidelines that any interested alumni group can follow are needed. Groups that develop around sensitive issues raise the toughest questions for alumni administrators. (MLW)

Advice from senior public relations officers to their newer colleagues includes getting to know how other campus advancement offices operate, getting involved on campus, volunteering in the community, attending conferences, joining professional organizations, and finding a mentor. (MSE)

The National Special Education Alliance (a national network of local computer resource centers associated with Apple Computer, Inc.) consists, one year after formation, of 24 non-profit support centers staffed largely by volunteers. The NSEA now reaches more than 1000 disabled computer users each month and more growth in the future is expected.…

Examines the relationship of individual religious commitment and campus climate to voluntary community service among college students. Finds a positive association between campus climate and participation in community service among students who lack a clear religious commitment. (FMW)

Presents a model for developing effective parent involvement program. Principals should visualize people served by school, define what parent involvement means to school, gain faculty input, involve parents in planning process, and form a committee of teachers and parents to define common meanings and objectives. Open houses based on specific…

The author's experiences in community service at a Quaker summer work camp 30 years ago taught him more about himself than about the community in which he helped. National service needs to include an organizing orientation that allows the strengths of both participants and community members to flourish. (SLD)

Describes the steps to increasing levels of teacher involvement in child advocacy. Steps range from "dreamer" with a vision of a better condition, to "volunteer" who gives time and energy without compensation, to "fighter" who uses conflict and dissension to achieve goals. Suggests that this simple continuum encourages teachers to become involved…

Urban Schools Service Corps, an AmeriCorps project, placed community members in schools to work on improving them. Success factors included responsiveness of the elementary schools to community help, mentoring of volunteers by professionals, diversity among corps members and school staff, and the motivation of all to work for the children. (SK)

Replication in Virginia of Missouri's Volunteer Information Provider Program (to help rural families with caregiving) had mixed results, suggesting that the program should be revised before transfer to different populations. Length of training and volunteer time commitment were also barriers. (SK)

An assistant superintendent describes his experience teaching Jay, an intelligent, learning-disabled 47-year-old forestry technician to read and write beyond the third grade level. Like young readers, adults must convince themselves they are capable of progress before any can be made. Jay now reads at sixth grade level and is still progressing.…

Presents the rationale and purposes behind the phenomenon known as storm chasing, as well as the contributions that tornado chasers have made to both scientific knowledge and public safety. Provides statistical information on tornado frequencies and locations and contact addresses for storm chasers. (JJK)

Suggests using student volunteers to videotape students' class presentations. Offers guidelines. (SR)

Interviews with 72 volunteers who participated in community development activities over 9 years showed that (1) all increased existing knowledge and skills; (2) on average, women learned more than men; and (3) the greater the level of involvement, the greater the learning. (SK)

Older women are often perceived as marginal in the development process and are ignored by planners. The challenge is to foster recognition and increase their activity rates. The development process must be redesigned to ensure that it uses older women to their fullest potential. (JOW)

This article describes a Des Moines (Iowa) program in which approximately 100 people or organizations have given 600 hours of time to gifted students. It identifies creative ways to use community resources, where to find community resources (professional organizations, service clubs, school staff, retired persons, parents, students, and…