In this article, the author talks about Urban Tech, a New York City-based organization that works with schools to teach students the life skills it believes are necessary for academic achievement and workforce readiness. Its Youth Leadership Academy program uses a variety of computer-based, interactive elements to educate students on such topics…

The project activities highlighted in this publication were conducted within the framework of school-based afterschool programs operated by community-based organizations. The intention of the Discovering Community initiative, created by The After-School Corporation and MetLife Foundation, is to foster greater collaborations and mutual respect…

Community-based organizations (CBOs), typically small and underfunded with transient staff members, are told by funders to care for clients and verify program value. To assist CBOs with evaluations that speak to program effectiveness, many funders wish to expand the evaluation capacity of CBO staff members so that evaluation will occur as long as…

The Exploratorium is home to XTech, a science education program which began in 2006 and was primarily funded by a three-year National Science Foundation grant (Award # 05-25217) through its ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) initiative. XTech provided project-based afterschool activities in science, engineering,…

In this essay, the authors argue that linking second language learners with communities that need their language skills can result in an empowering experience for students and for the communities with which they work. They describe a college-level service-learning project that was designed to help IMPACT Chicago, a women's self-defense…

Although women make up over half of the U.S. workforce, they continue to encounter difficulties, including male domination as well as inequities in pay, benefits, and other rewards (Bierema, 2001). Billett (2002) suggests opportunities to advance are "subject to workplace practices that reproduce inequities through contested workplace relations."…

This paper describes and analyzes an undergraduate course entitled Public Interest Research in which students learn research methods by conducting research on behalf of one or more community organizations. Students' work is conceived of as community action learning, a combination of participatory action research and service learning, emphasizing…

For slumping libraries in search of a meaningful expansion of community services, this is the one most likely to do the trick. (Author)

Functions and operations of information and referral services both within and outside of the library. (LS)

Information and Referral (I&R) Services must have comprehensive knowledge of community resources, be staffed by people trained and skilled in making referrals, be accessible and available at all hours, and make the community aware of the existence of the service. I&R services and libraries should cooperate for mutual service and benefits. (LS)

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FIRST HAND HOW COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS OPERATE TO IMPROVE THE COMMUNITY. IN PREFERENCE TO CLASSROOM STUDY OF THE THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, THE SENIOR "CURRENT PROBLEMS" CLASSES WERE ARRANGED SO THAT STUDENTS HAD ONE AFTERNOON EACH WEEK TO DEVOTE TO WORK IN THE…

THE REPORT POINTS OUT THAT, IN GENERAL, CHRONIC PROBLEM PARENTS GREW UP IN ENVIRONMENTS OF EMOTIONAL IMPOVERISHMENT, INCONSISTENCY, CONFUSION, AND DISORDER, OFTEN WITH DEPRIVATION OF FOOD, CLOTHING, AND SHELTER. THESE PARENTS CATEGORIZE PEOPLE AS THOSE WHO GIVE AND THOSE WHO TAKE. THEY BLAME THEIR PROBLEMS ON EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES NOT UNDER THEIR…

The Community Organization Curriculum Development Project, sponsored by the Council on Social Work Education, has suggested a core curriculum for the teaching of community organization in social work schools. The key issue was how the practitioner could be more effective in meeting current social problems. Recommendations included foundation and…

A general guide to organizing and conducting reliable and useful community surveys is reported. Organization for the survey involves identifying and contacting relevant community groups, and meeting with organizational representatives. Constructing a questionnaire involves careful wording and ordering of questions, and determining if questions…

It is believed that this compilation will meet an information need that currently exists about environmental organizations. There are numerous directories and listings of environmental groups which furnish names, addresses, and brief statements of objectives, but they are frequently quite meager in their presentation of the history and character…