Effective Practices: Program Snapshots
Organized by topic area, take a look at how others are serving in communities across the nation:
Disaster Preparedness and Response
Volunteer and Program Management
At-Risk Youth
- Providing leadership opportunities through a youth policy committee
Crispus Attucks YouthBuild: York, Pennsylvania - Serving at-risk junior high school students by modeling positive life choices
Franklin Junior High School: Franklin, Ohio - Supporting adolescent females with a leadership group
International Learning Program: Portland, Oregon - Using an aerospace club to strengthen aviation education for youth
4H of Wayne County: Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan
Civic Engagement
- Providing citizenship training to AmeriCorps members
Volunteer Florida: Tallahassee, Florida - Providing part-time AmeriCorps opportunities for college and university students
Jumpstart: San Francisco, California
Community Technology Programs
- Bringing technology support to schools in low-income communities
NetDay AmeriCorps Bridge Program: Oakland and Costa Mesa, California; Detroit, Michigan; Mercedes, Texas - Helping youth use technology for social change
Heads on Fire: San Diego, California - Supporting community technology center (CTC) AmeriCorps*VISTA members
CTC VISTA Project, College of Public and Community Service, UMass, Boston: Boston, Massachusetts - Teaching alternative high school students computer skills through experiential learning
Tonasket Alternative/Outreach School: Tonasket, Washington
Crime Prevention
- Protecting police dogs and the communities in which they serve
Pennies to Protect Police Dogs: Stanford, Florida - Providing college graduates with experience in victim rights and crime prevention projects
Americorps & Montgomery County Police Department: Gaithersburg, Maryland - Providing home security and community safety services to residents of low-income communities
Safe Neighborhoods AmeriCorps Partnership (SNAP): Bridgeport, Connecticut - Sponsoring a youth baseball league to prevent crime
Red Hook Public Safety Corps: Brooklyn, New York - Using criminal justice students for a community policing project
Monroe Community College: Rochester, New York
Disability Inclusion
- Collaborating in service to increase quality of life for persons with disabilities
Volunteer Florida: Tallahassee, Florida - Matching peer mentors with children who have disabilities
Walla Walla/Columbia Parent to Parent Program: Walla Walla, Washington - Providing a dial-up newspaper reading service
Elkhart County RSVP: Elkhart, Indiana - Providing a skills exchange network for people with disabilities and low incomes
Washtenaw Talent Exchange: Ann Arbor, Michigan - Serving children with special needs at an army base
El Paso Foster Grandparent Program: El Paso, Texas
Disaster Preparedness and Response
- Conducting a hazard assessment
AmeriCorps*NCCC Northeast Region: Northern New Hampshire - Fostering police and community relationships
Community Assisting Police (CAP): Montgomery County, Maryland - Partnering RSVP volunteers with law enforcement agencies
Volunteer Center Orange County: Santa Ana, California - Partnering with communities to protect children from lead poisoning
CLEARCorps (Community Lead Education and Reduction Corps): Saint Paul, Minnesota - Preparing seniors with disaster mitigation
Green River Area Development District, Senior Connections AmeriCorps: Western Kentucky - Reducing household hazardous waste with a service-learning project
Flathead Valley Community College: Kalispell, Montana - Responding to environmental needs after a flood
AmeriCorps*NCCC Capital Region Campus: Southern West Virginia - Retrofitting buildings in high-risk areas for disaster mitigation
RSVP of Windham County: Brattleboro, Vermont - Supporting public safety efforts with RSVP volunteers
RSVP of Montgomery County: Rockville, Maryland - Using Foster Grandparents to operate childcare areas in emergency shelters
Foster Grandparent Program: Livingston County, New York
Literacy
- Collaborating with a university to train reading tutors
University of Missouri: Kansas City, Missouri - Developing a community adult literacy program
Silver Valley Learning Center, North Idaho College: Kellogg, Idaho - Engaging parents and adults in educational activities at school
National School and Community Corps (NSCC): Philadelphia, PA; Oakland, CA; Fort Worth, TX; Plainfield & Trenton, N.J. - Journaling in Head Start to increase literacy
Head Start: Pocatello, Idaho - Motivating students with homework stations
City Year Philadelphia: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Organizing a one-day community book drive
Eastern Shore RSVP: Belle Haven, Virginia - Organizing reading fairs for parents of young children
RSVP of Deschutes County: Bend, Oregon - Promoting literacy through service projects
Sonoma Regional Service Collaborative: Rohnert Park,California - Sharing between seniors and elementary school students
University of North Texas, Center for Public Service: Denton, Texas - Training intergenerational tutors in diversity
RSVP of the Capital Region: Albany, New York - Using a family-oriented approach to English as a Second Language instruction
Family Learning Program, Literacy Council of Northern Virginia: Fairfax County, Virginia - Utilizing Foster Grandparents to increase literacy during summer break
Mexia State School Foster Grandparent Program: Mexia, Texas - Using poetry workshops to encourage literacy
Washington Reading Corps Program in the Highline School District: Tukwila, Washington
Mentoring
- Matching volunteer mentors with adults working towards self-sufficiency
Cornerstone Outreach Center: Amarillo, Texas - Mentoring incarcerated youth to reduce recidivism
FGP/SCP Programs, Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego: Imperial County, California - Mentoring teenage girls at a homeless shelter
Booth Brown House: Saint Paul, Minnesota - Motivating students to complete homework
Canisius College: Buffalo, New York - Partnering with county extension agents to train mentors
North Dakota State University: Fargo, North Dakota - Pairing Foster Grandparents with children in Head Start
Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities: Franklin County, Ohio - Starting children's school day with RSVP volunteers
RSVP of North Central, Iowa: Forest City, Iowa - Using a faith-based organization to serve as an intermediary in a mentoring program
Good Samaritan Ministries: Holland, Michigan - Using the assets model to understand adolescent development
Paso del Norte Assets for Youth AmeriCorps Program: El Paso, Texas
Out-of-School Time
- Assisting underperforming students with after-school service-learning
Petaluma City Schools: Petaluma, California - Creating a bilingual after-school program
Vose Elementary School: Beaverton, Oregon - Providing summer youth activities
New Horizon Community Development Corporation: Dallas County, Arkansas
Poverty and Low-Income Needs
- Building homeless coalitions
Texas Homeless Network: Austin, Texas - Combining job skills, training, and GED acquisition for disadvantaged youth
Casa Verde Builders: Austin, Texas - Creating baskets for fundraising and distribution to a faith-based organization
Florida Gulf Coast University's Center for Civic Engagement: Fort Myers, Florida - Distributing perishable foods to low-income families
Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs: Spokane, Washington - Educating and delivering financial services to low-income, underserved residents and businesses
Faith Community Credit Union: Cuyahoga County, Ohio - Enlisting businesses to adopt home meal routes
Volunteer Center of Orange County: Santa Ana, California - Improving neighborhoods with web-based community mapping
Neighborhood Knowledge Los Angeles: Los Angeles, CA - Increasing parent attendance at family night activities
Western Sussex Boys & Girls Club of Delaware: Sussex County, Delaware - Linking law students with volunteer opportunities
Minnesota Justice Foundation: Minneapolis, Minnesota - Operating a building materials warehouse to support an affordable housing program
Habitat for Humanity of Springfield, Inc.: Springfield, Missouri - Operating a program that provides reliable used cars to low-income families
Good News Garage: Northern New England - Operating a program that provides transportation to low-income families
Good News Garage: Burlington, Vermont - Partnering with a bakery to provide breakfast to low-income schools
Greggs Breakfast Club: United Kingdom - Planning and facilitating life skills classes for welfare recipients
AmeriCorps Appalachian Self-Sufficiency Program: Prestonsburg, Kentucky - Presenting free legal resources on public access television
Passaic County Legal Aid Society: Patterson, New Jersey - Protecting the rights of victims of domestic violence
Montana Legal Services Association AmeriCorps*VISTA Program: Eastern Montana - Providing clothes for people transitioning into the workforce
Clothing & Connections: Fargo, North Dakota - Providing oral health care to low-income communities
Taunton Student Health Corps: Boston, Massachusetts - Providing small business training for low-income individuals
Yazoo Community Action, Inc.: Yazoo City, Mississippi - Reducing petty vandalism in an affordable housing community
Dallas City Homes, Inc.: Dallas, Texas - Serving children with special needs at an army base
El Paso Foster Grandparent Program: El Paso, Texas - Strengthening rural economic development through a community action team
La Pine Community Action Team: La Pine, Oregon - Supporting faith-based and secular group efforts to provide for human needs
RSVP of Warren County: Lebanon, Ohio - Using art to raise funds and awareness for hunger relief
Empty Bowls and Imagine/RENDER: Burnsville, North Carolina
Pro Bono
- Encouraging pro bono service in the advertising and communications industry
Ad Council: New York, New York & Washington, D.C. - Encouraging pro bono service with alumni from the business and management sector
Harvard Business School Association of Northern California: San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Sacramento, California - Establishing pro bono service to deliver marketing and communications assistance to local nonprofit organizations
Harlem Educational Activities Fund (HEAF): New York, New York - Establishing pro bono service for nonprofit organizations with corporate counsel
GE Citizenship: Communities and Philanthropy: Fairfield, Connecticut - Establishing pro bono service with a design firm
Pentagram: New York, New York - Insituting pro bono service with an intermediary organization
Monitor Group: Cambridge, Massachusetts - Offering decentralized pro bono service with a management consulting firm
Ashoka Fellows: Arlington, Virgina
Senior Services
- Developing a comprehensive Senior Companion program with a faith-based partner
Salvation Army Senior Companion Program (SCP): Newark, New Jersey - Developing a senior leadership program
North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement, the University of North Carolina: Asheville, North Carolina - Establishing a program that connects caretakers of elderly relatives with financial assistance
Caring Homes Program: Massachusetts, USA - Helping low-income seniors and others use a medication assistance program
Senior Life Cycle: Grant County, New Mexico - Organizing county-wide recycling with RSVP volunteers
Cascade County RSVP: Cascade County, Montana - Preventing telemarketing fraud with an RSVP call center
WISE Senior Services: Santa Monica, California - Providing cell phones for emergency assistance to active low-income seniors
Golden Umbrella: Redding, California - Serving terminally ill seniors
The Senior Companion Program of Senior Citizens, Inc.: Savannah, Georgia - Serving the frail elderly through an interfaith association
Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA): Memphis, Tennessee
Service-Learning
- Building young leaders through service-learning
City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley: San Jose, California - Creating leaders with an integrated service-learning curriculum
Langley Middle School: Langley, Washington - Creating partnerships to bring the arts to school and community projects through service-learning
Center for Art and Public Life, California College of Arts and Crafts: Oakland, California - Creating structured opportunities for reflection during service projects
Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP): New York, New York - Collaborating to develop service programming to address community needs
Florida Alliance for Student Service (FASS) VISTA Initiative: Florida State University, Talahasee, Florida - Cultivating a garden with elementary school children
Elementary School: Manatee, Florida - Educating students about conservation with a multi-disciplinary service project
John Burroughs High School: Burbank, California - Engaging middle school students in service-learning
McGehee School: New Orleans, Louisiana - Increasing energy conservation awareness in elementary school students
Knowledge Is Power! (KIP): Ojai Valley, California - Integrating community service with higher education student government programming
JUMP (Join Us Making Progress) Program, California State University: Sonoma, California - Integrating entrepreneurship education with service-learning programs
SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) & SAGE (Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship): Chico, California - Involving a campus community in service with a faith-based Learn and Serve America program
Niagara University: Lewiston, New York - Involving students in planning and implementing school-wide service-learning
Granite Falls High School: Washington State - Linking a wildlife protection and management course to state conservation efforts
Blinn College: Brenham, Texas - Maximizing higher education volunteerism at community drop-in resource centers
National Student Partnerships: Washington, DC; Richmond, VA; San Antonio, Texas - Partnering with community institutions to air promotional videos
Jefferson Area RSVP: Charlottesville, Virginia - Restoring valley oak riparian forests with a service-learning project
Galt Joint Union Elementary School District: Galt, California - Training teachers to integrate service-learning in K-12 classrooms
Service-Learning Integrated Partnership: Chico, California - Tying service-learning into environmental conservation
Montana Conservation Corps: Kalispell, Montana - Using California State Parks as a service-learning resource
Carpenteria Middle School: Carpenteria, California - Using service-learning projects as an integral part of alternative K-12 education
Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services (ACCESS): Orange County, California
Tribal Services
- Partnering with a tribal Boys and Girls Club to serve youth
Boys and Girls Club of Shannon County: Shannon County, South Dakota
Volunteer and Program Management
- Assembling a team of grant writers to harness funds
Pima Prevention Partnership: Pima County, Arizona - Collaborating with municipal agencies yields environmental and program gains
Elkhart EnviroCorps: Elkhart, Indiana - Conducting a service project during "down time" at a conference
Alliance for Unity: Salt Lake City, Utah - Coordinating AmeriCorps recruitment efforts with local colleges
Evergreen State College: Olympia, Washington - Creating portfolios to capture AmeriCorps experiences
Northeast Kingdom Initiative AmeriCorps Program, Lyndon State College: Lyndonville, Vermont - Developing a training calendar and newsletter
Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism: Baltimore, Maryland - Evaluating Foster Grandparents
Foster Grandparent Program: Saint Cloud, Minnesota - Joining supervisory boards to improve relations with project sites
Community College of Rhode Island: S. Providence, Lincoln, & Warwick, Rhode Island - Organizing faith-based campaigns to raise funds for schools
Greater Homewood Interfaith Alliance: Baltimore, Maryland - Recording members' hours using a customized timesheet
Elkhart EnviroCorps: Elkhart, Indiana - Recruiting AmeriCorps*VISTA members and volunteers with a newspaper column
RSVP of Brevard County: Cocoa, Florida - Sharing resources between Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs
Economic Opportunity Authority: Savannah, Georgia - Streamlining program management and reporting with informational packets for site coordinators
Lowell Bennion Community Service Center: Salt Lake City, Utah - Sustaining a youth corps program through diverse funding
Milwaukee Community Service Corps: Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Transitioning from AmeriCorps to education or employment
Civic Corps: Baltimore, Maryland - Using a policy and procedure manual to guide volunteers
Arrowhead Farms Association: San Bernardino, California - Using a song to teach rules to new AmeriCorps members
Oregon Commission on Volunteer Action and Service: Portland, Oregon - Using a website to recruit RSVP volunteers
RSVP for Harford County: Harford County, Maryland - Writing white papers for sustainability
Ohio Campus Compact: Granville, Ohio
