Extension programming often strives to achieve maximum impact on a minimum budget, but when it comes to sourcing local produce, asking farmers to donate sellable commodity can result in a dip into their profits. By connecting community partners, Extension can facilitate collaborations that work in the favor of all participating parties and…

Assessing program impact can provide useful program evaluation data. It also provides a basis for program development, marketing, and justification. This article discusses recent impact evaluation efforts and findings of a long-time Extension program; referred to as Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E). How such information can be…

Community-based educational programs play a significant role in the education and positive development of youth. Over the last decade, the Oregon 4-H Youth Development program has made special efforts to reach and engage Latino youth and families in non-formal educational programs. Latino families most often do not access community-based…

The City/County/Regional Government Volunteer Programs Coordinator Program was inaugurated by ACTION as one of several projects to test whether the Federal government can play an expanded role in the volunteer movement. ACTION invited interested city, county, and regional governments to submit proposals for participation in a series of 1-year,…

The training and use of volunteers is described in a comparison of two community integration projects for the developmentally disabled, one aimed at mainstreaming preschoolers, the other at increasing community integration of elderly persons. Changes in attitudes and knowledge by nondisabled volunteers and measured outcomes for clients are also…

Organizational capacity refers to the ability of nonprofit organizations to fulfill their missions in an effective manner. Through the JVA Consulting Colorado Compassion Initiative, a comprehensive, capacity-building program was developed and provided for faith- and community-based organizations. This study examined faith-based organizations'…

The Volunteers in Education Project is designed to utilize community volunteers to provide, without charge, various services to the school staff. Other goals are to reinforce the instruction of the teaching staff with volunteers trained for particular service, to offer individual help to students, to make available the talents and resources of the…

An independent evaluation of the VISTA program in two Baltimore, Maryland, schools describes the objectives and activities of this project funded by the Economic Opportunity Act. Assessment of the VISTA efforts was based on questionnaires completed by the 10 volunteers, and interviews with principals, teachers, guidance counselors, pupils, and…

This document contains 200 one-page abstracts intended to provide a linkage between producers and consumers of research related to the Cooperative Extension Service. The abstracts are organized into nine broad categories: administration, agriculture/natural resources, accountability and evaluation, community resource development, 4-H and youth,…

This booklet is intended as an introductory guide to community-based rehabilitation (CBR) services in developing nations. The first section examines the magnitude of the problem; the failure of existing services to meet this challenge; and the need for a model appropriate to developing countries. The second section briefly describes the CBR…

AmeriCorps is a national initiative that involves citizens in strengthening America's communities through community service. This document presents findings of a cost-benefit analysis of two AmeriCorps programs in Washington State--the Hoquiam Project and the Lake Chelan Project. In calculating annual costs, the study included both federal dollars…

A project to demonstrate and evaluate some innovative programs utilizing volunteers in work with the handicapped and to provide data on the success of present programs is discussed. As part of the project, four pilot projects were undertaken to determine the feasibility and utility of certain approaches and to develop model training courses that…

This new manual updates two older Peace Corps' manuals: "Teaching Conservation in Developing Nations" [ICE M0007] and "Conservation Education: A Planning Guide" [ICE No. M0023]. In addition to the time- and field-tested wisdom of the older manuals, this new manual incorporates current research and practice in the field of environmental education.…

This manual is intended to assist volunteers and staff of volunteer organizations in the design of projects in various community and social service areas. The first section of the manual is a guidebook that addresses such aspects of the planning, implementation, and evaluation process as situational analysis, needs assessment, task-oriented…

Describes the Independent Study Program of Seekonk High School (Massachusetts), a program that allows students to leave school on a regular basis to volunteer within the community. Seniors choose a project and submit it for approval. Suggestions are given for implementing and sustaining such a program. (SLD)