In 2008 the South African Government launched the "Kha Ri Gude" mass literacy campaign to address the country's adult illiteracy problem. The Campaign drew upon the Cuban "Yo, Si Puedo" campaign model. In 2012, an Australian non-governmental organisation, Literacy for Life Foundation, likewise informed by the Cuban "Yo, Si…

Shawnee State University (SSU) founded Project BEAR: Building Emerging and Achieving Readers, an AmeriCorps program, to support literacy development and improve school readiness in the Appalachian region. After the first 2 years of program implementation, areas for growth including enhanced service member recruitment, member onboarding, and…

This article describes the curriculum and program development process that was used to create the North Carolina Extension Master Food Volunteer program. We used a rigorous program development process, including conducting a needs assessment, piloting and evaluating the program, incorporating revisions based on feedback, and receiving external…

Many talented students in under-resourced schools do not reach their full potential. Research shows that by sixth grade, children born into poverty have likely spent 6,000 fewer hours learning than their middle-class counterparts. Higher Achievement, an intensive summer and after-school program, aims to close that learning gap. It offers…

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…

Administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) is a federal grant program that provides funding to community-based coalitions that organize to prevent youth substance use. Since the…

The study reported an assessment of a university-wide curriculum-based service learning program and, based on the assessment data, analyzed the impact of teachers' and supervisors' involvement on students' skill and affective learning outcomes. The study (n=750) showed that in general the students agreed that their participation in…

It has been widely acknowledged that an important indicator of a successful sojourn for international students is social integration into the host community. Despite seemingly regular opportunities to integrate, many international students report that their interactions with local residents remain superficial. The "Community Connections"…

This article focuses on intergenerational communication and provides a practical approach for how teachers and administrators can implement intergenerational programs in their schools. A discussion of the social and cultural implications of intergenerational communication is offered, and a review of literature regarding intergenerational programs…

Despite findings indicating the importance of non-parental adults in the lives of youth, there is little research on these relationships, including those that occur in the context of youth mentoring. Compounding this problem is a positive slant taken towards youth mentoring in the media, often unsubstantiated by empirical evidence. This article…

Explains steps in developing a volunteer program in a school; (i.e., assessing the school community's need for volunteers; developing a volunteer management plan; implementing the program; and evaluating the effort. Looks at trends in the number of volunteers, the competition for their services, volunteer expectations, and strength through…

Students for Volunteer Services was a demonstration project implemented by Michigan's Lansing Community College to facilitate student understanding of and participation in community service. Project activities focused on increasing the percentages of students who volunteer (with an emphasis on minority students), improving the abilities of…

Guidelines are provided for parents, teachers, and administrators interested in implementing a volunteer program in classrooms or in an entire school system. This guide is divided into seven sections that deal with: (1) benefits derived from participation in a parent involvement program; (2) 10 points to consider in beginning a volunteer program;…

The Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The overarching goal of the Plus 50…

This guide, prepared for a Nevada State literacy council, provides practical information and step-by-step planning for recruiting, training, using, retaining, documenting, and recognizing volunteers. The 11 sections of the guide cover the following topics: (1) establishing goals and objectives and writing a plan; (2) identifying jobs and writing…