This booklet presents ideas based on actions taken by community leaders to recruit new and emerging leaders to join in the improvement of a community. The discussion includes: (1) asking the question "who's not here?" to make sure the community organization is representative; (2) looking for skills, not names to discover leadership…

Interviews with 72 volunteers who participated in community development activities over 9 years showed that (1) all increased existing knowledge and skills; (2) on average, women learned more than men; and (3) the greater the level of involvement, the greater the learning. (SK)

This paper examines the influence of community attachment on voluntary citizen participation in rural community improvement projects. We do so by modifying the original systemic model of community attachment (Kasarda and Janowitz 1974) and combining it with tenets of rational choice and social embeddedness theories. The modified model is then…

Kentucky's SOS (Sharing Our Selves) Learning Networks are community-owned, volunteer-run, informal learning/development programs incorporating community needs and the skills/knowledge/experience of individuals regardless of academic credentials. The Cooperative Extension Service administers the programs. Interested community members list subjects…

This document lists resources for and about volunteerism in the United States, especially in rural areas. The largest section of the paper is an annotated bibliography that contains 48 citations of books and articles. The articles listings are subdivided into the following categories: (1) career building and service learning; (2) building…

Some returned Peace Corps volunteers believe that U.S. foreign policy has been more damaging than helpful in the Third World. They question the links between U.S. foreign and military policy and the Peace Corps. This book addresses such questions and brings together resources and information that will help the prospective volunteer find an…

This volume relates the origins of Volunteers in Service To America (VISTA), its problems and achievements. Originating in President Kennedy's proposal for a national service corps (1963), VISTA reached concrete form with the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. While white middle class youth constitute the bulk of the volunteers, the organization…

DRAWING EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY PROBLEMS AND COMMUNITY ACTION FROM THE UNITED STATES, PUERTO RICO, IRAN, INDIA, KENYA, AND 14 OTHER COUNTRIES (MOSTLY DEVELOPING NATIONS), THIS CASEBOOK STRESSES COOPERATION BY TRAINED COMMUNITY WORKERS AND VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY LEADERS FOR COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT. SEPARATE SECTIONS DEAL WITH MEANS OF DEVELOPING RAPPORT…

This report profiles 12 programs conducted as part of the Hitachi Foundation's Partnerships in Economic and Educational Opportunity Initiative. The introduction and overview explain the goals of the initiative, which was undertaken to improve the economic and career options available to young people who have traditionally been underserved by…