The Mechanicsburg Area (Pennsylvania) Phone Pal Program is a telephone reassurance program in which an older volunteer calls a child who is home alone before or after school. Calls are made at the same time each day. These daily calls provide both younger and older persons with a safety verification, in addition to fellowship. Phone Pal is…

The article describes a university-based program in which volunteers were paired one-on-one with developmentally disabled children and engaged in weekly outings. Procedures for recruiting, screening, training, and supervising volunteers are briefly described, and program evaluation data are presented. (Author/DB)

A professional family life or youth development educator can function as a mentor to natural community leaders. The most important task of the professional educator may be to make the volunteers aware of how much they know and to encourage them to follow through on their own beliefs. Because of the limited emotional and spiritual energy available…

This manual is a step-by-step, comprehensive guide for the training of development workers produced by the Peace Corps. It begins with introductory ideas and assumptions about development. Notes to the trainers on use of the manual are provided. Materials are then presented for six training sessions: introduction to development, the dynamics of…

The emerging youth service movement has reinforced and built on the foundation of service in traditional organizations and focuses on tapping youth talent and energy. Youth service is a concept that has roots in pre-20th century American society. Service programs today increasingly include training, education, prevention, and employment…