This research recognized the current perception of preschool ministry and First Sarasota Baptist Church in Sarasota, Florida. In order to motivate and equip members to contribute to the spiritual formation of children ages two to six, an eight-week training course was developed for forty participants. Their progress was determined using a pre-test…

This study sought to examine how service-learning and student volunteer opportunities shape educational experiences for students by surveying 437 students currently enrolled in service-learning courses from nine participating Florida Campus Compact institutions. The researchers found several predictors that impacted student perceptions of their…

Volunteer engagement is critical to achieving the mission of volunteer organizations (Boone et al., 2002). Fogarty et al. (2009) found that 4-H volunteers are a mediating factor in achieving positive youth development outcomes and are responsible for teaching at least 50% of the life skills youth gain from participation in the organization. For…

Our understanding of leaders and the role they play in organizations and society is changing, which has important implications for leadership education. At the turn of the century, society began to move from a mechanistic understanding of leadership to a more ecological one. The latter, ecological approach to leadership is characterized by…

The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) encourages doctoral candidates volunteering in order to give back and continue their relationship with the university after completing their dissertation. Volunteering can take on many forms, from acting as doctoral assistants to performing the role of critical friends on future doctoral…

We explored the motivations for and psychological benefits gained from participating in the Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP). We surveyed 3,904 participants, and 1,983 participants responded with completed questionnaires, for a 50.79% response rate. Florida master naturalists participated to learn, help the environment, and act on…

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in 2020 resulting in a public health caseload surge precipitating deployment of military and federal medical units, states issuing emergency orders to engage retired medical professionals, and novice or inadequately trained healthcare workers thrust into service to meet the pressing need. The novelty and…

The value of the liberal arts and humanities has increasingly been called into question on multiple fronts. Attempts to bridge the practical and liberal arts through forms of civic professionalism have been gaining traction in larger spheres of influence. This article outlines the results of a deliberative civic engagement forum (n = 42) that…

Volunteers can be an important resource of many nonprofit organizations. The ability to meet the mission, goals and objectives of nonprofit organizations often depends upon the effectiveness of volunteer involvement in direct service delivery or indirect program support. Volunteer involvement utilizes financial and non-financial resources of an…

The primary purpose of the study was to explore the potential impact of voluntary remediation on success in gateway credit courses (ENC1101 and MAT1033) and on minority and low-income students in Florida. Mean grades and proportions of successful students were compared based on remediation policies and students' voluntary completion of a…

The Volunteer UCF Community Connectors and Community Builders Program provides a connection between students and their community. The goal is to develop meaningful service opportunities for UCF students that contribute measurable results and systemic change through capacity building among adult learners. The ongoing, sustainable service experience…

A growing number of U.S. institutions are recognizing the importance of reaching out to and involving alumni in meaningful ways--so much so that it's encoded as a specific campaign goal. But, like fundraising goals, alumni engagement goals are not realized easily, overnight, or just because they're committed to paper. Lasting engagement takes…

Large distances and small budgets had made it challenging for Florida Project Learning Tree (PLT) to conduct in-person workshops with volunteer 4-H leaders to disseminate the PreK-8 guide. An online version of a PLT workshop was developed to overcome these barriers. Formative evaluation data suggested that the program effectively introduced PLT to…

Extension, with its access to long-term volunteers, has the unique ability to teach citizen scientists about the connection between climate variability and the resulting effects on plants, animals, and thus, humans. The USA National Phenology Network's Nature's Notebook on-line program provides a science learning tool for Extension's Master…

This article discusses a qualitative evaluation of the Florida 4-H Health Rocks! program aimed at youth alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use prevention. A questionnaire was distributed to Extension professionals across Florida to gain insight into the strengths and barriers they faced with programming. Programmatic strengths included targeting a…