Although the immediate, primary mission of the Peace Corps is serving other countries, there are many domestic dividends, including enhanced postservice employment opportunities. An exciting new feature is the Crisis Corps, introduced by Director Mark Gearan, composed of former Peace Corps volunteers "reenlisting" for short periods…

Interviews with 50 Latin Americans and Somalis living in Canada found a variety of motivations for volunteering with mainstream organizations, including promotion of their communities' needs. Barriers included lack of information, discrimination, and losses from migration. Suggestions for organizations seeking to recruit, support, and work with…

Assessed the relationship between the presence of Oregon volunteer long-term care ombudsmen and externally handled abuse complaints, survey reports, and regulatory sanctions. Found presence of ombudsmen was related to increased abuse reporting and abuse complaint substantiation, more survey deficiencies, and higher sanction activity. (JBJ)

Describes Purdue University's School of Liberal Arts Sexual Harassment Advisors' Network, an autonomous and informal program composed of volunteers who act as advisors for victims of sexual harassment. Describes operating procedures and relations with other campus offices, and discusses some of the unresolved issues that have emerged since 1992.…

NetDay began in California as an idea developed by Michael Kaufman, of KQED, and John Gage, of Sun Microsystems. They proposed the "electronic barn raising" concept, drawing on community resources to wire schools and encourage citizens to cooperate. Other states and Australia now participate. (MLH)

The Leadership Institute for Active Aging, an approach to recruiting and retaining volunteers over 50, provides training focused on community resources, aging, self-worth, and volunteering and internships in community-based organizations involving health and social services. Exit interviews and program evaluations affirmed that the leadership…

Identifies principles of attracting alumni volunteers to community volunteer projects organized by college alumni organizations, considers ways alumni organizations get involved in community service projects, suggests benefits of such projects for alumni organizations, offers principles of successful partnerships with national service…

Increasingly students are coming to campus with a range of experience in community services and are often ready for an expanded role. Some may consider ways to improve or reform the institutions where they serve. This article discusses the role of the campus in building on a student's experience in order to provide more ambitious programs. (JDM)

American high school and university students perform community service in record numbers. According to the most recent survey of incoming university freshman, more than 80 percent of students undertook volunteer work in high school. While volunteering is on the rise, political interest and engagement among youth is declining. These two trends lead…

Older volunteers are helping urban students in developing the confidence and skills to succeed. Older adults, with their life experience and strong commitment to social service, can make a special contribution in underfunded and understaffed urban schools.

Society calls upon art therapists to meet the needs of troubled community members. This article describes one art therapist?s experience of "giving back" to the community by volunteering to provide art therapy at a therapeutic camp for children whose lives have been touched by HIV/AIDS. Some of the medical, social, and psychological issues…

American volunteers, both informally and through organizations like the Corporation for National Service, make huge contributions to the well-being of millions of Americans and, via their unpaid or minimally-reimbursed work, to the American economy. Can America continue to count on maintaining or increasing volunteer contributions in the future?…

In this article, the author relates her experience working with World Neighbors, a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in the United States, and spending most of her time working with women's groups in rural Kenya. She contends that her greatest desire is to help those less fortunate and make the world a better place.

The University of North Carolina Mobile Student Health Action Coalition (UNC MSHAC) at Chapel Hill, North Carolina is a voluntary service-learning program in which interdisciplinary teams of graduate level health professional students provide monthly home visits to isolated, community-dwelling elders with complex medical and social issues.…

This fact sheet explores volunteering among high school students, ages 16-18. Overall, volunteering among high school students was down slightly in 2006 as compared to 2005. Additional information includes types of volunteer organizations and activities, and ways that high school students become involved in these activities. Volunteer rate vary by…