The Volunteer Program Assessment at UNO (VPA-UNO), a faculty-led student group, partners with nonprofit and governmental agencies to provide free assessments and consultations to enhance volunteer engagement, organizational commitment and retention. Three recent initiatives are discussed representing an intentional effort of a metropolitan…

"Voluntourism" refers to the use of "discretionary time and income to travel out of the sphere of regular activity to assist others in need" (McGehee & Santos, 2005, p. 760). These experiences have been shown to raise consciousness and increase interest in activism (McGehee, 2002; Wearing, 2001) and to build pro-social…

This randomized-controlled-trial aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a web-phone intervention system in preventing smoking relapse. The intervention was based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM), incorporated with Motivational Interviewing strategies, and the Two-phase Model. One hundred and sixteen volunteer subjects were recruited from the…

In this article, the author investigates college students' volunteer teaching in Western China. A series of investigations were conducted in Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. The results showed that teaching by volunteer college students played a positive role in the development of local education…

Examined the benefits of volunteerism for people with disabilities as well as their non-disabled peers and the agency in which they served. Participants were college students who were matched with adolescents from a local school for students with disabilities. After two semesters of volunteer work for a local museum, benefits were discussed and…

The efforts of the University of Nebraska to build a new educational program based on community service are described. NOVA combined traditional instruction with a year-long field experience for undergraduate students in Nebraska communities. Emphasis was on problems related to poverty. The planning phase of the project is reviewed, along with an…

The present study assessed the effects of a companion program on college student volunteers and mental patients. Overall, the effects of companionship were negative for students and patients, while questionnaire responses indicated positive feelings toward the overall program. Because of this discrepancy, caution should be exercised in introducing…

Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, received a grant and organized a recruitment campaign to obtain college student volunteers for area literacy councils. The campaign structure included: (1) contacting education departments in eastern Pennsylvania colleges and acquainting them with literacy councils, adult basic education, and the…

This report reviews the origins of the Human Corps concept, discusses the Human Corps activities of the University of California and the California State University over the past year (1991), and offers two recommendations concerning future reporting requirements related to this program. The recommendations are: (1) the University of California…

The specific effects of the Young Volunteers in ACTION (YVA) Program were examined through onsite interviews with project directors, workstation supervisors, and volunteers at 18 YVA projects in their second year of ACTION funding. Principal topics were accomplishment of YVA's poverty goals; effects of YVA on the workstation, volunteerism, and the…

THIS EVALUATION REPORT DESCRIBES AN 8-MONTH PROJECT WHOSE GOALS WERE (1) TO MOTIVATE AND OFFER SUPPORT TO CULTURALLY DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN, (2) TO ENCOURAGE IN THEM POSITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD SCHOOL, AND (3) TO ENRICH THEIR LIVES THROUGH CULTURAL EXPERIENCES. VOLUNTEER COLLEGE STUDENTS WORKED ON A ONE-TO-ONE BASIS WITH 26 THIRD-, FOURTH-, AND…

As the first awardees in the Student Community Service (SCS) program conclude their third and final year of funding and as SCS becomes an established part of ACTION's system of volunteer opportunities, it seems a proper time to evaluate the program. This evaluation examines whether the SCS has made a difference in the host communities served, and…

In an effort to help disadvantaged preschool children develop emergent literacy skills and improve their chances of future academic success, a cooperative project was implemented in 1991-92 by McNeese State University in Louisiana and a local Head Start agency to provide tutoring to Head Start children. University students enrolled in a teacher's…

This report provides peer-reviewed, scholarly research supported in whole or in part by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement through its educational research and development programs. It includes 13 previously published articles from selected refereed journals identifying the best research on community service learning. Section 1,…

This final report is an evaluation of Project Inspire, a program designed to create within the school setting a positive framework and atmosphere for learning through efforts directed toward students and teachers. Conducted at the Francis Junior High School in North-West Washington, D.C., Project Inspire aimed to improve academic achievement,…