Conducting home visits to families in need

Conducting home visits to families in need

The Family Empowerment Project in Oregon depends on the use of community volunteers, rather than agency personnel, to befriend and support parents in their efforts to be better caregivers. Parents who neglect their children are often isolated and lonely, with low self-esteem, little knowledge of child development and parenting, and a history of substance abuse. Volunteers for the Family Empowerment Project in Oregon regularly visit parents with a history of child neglect in their homes to break their isolation and connect them with a network of support. This paper by AmeriCorps member Stephanie Hamrick won first place in the 1997 Northwest National Service Symposium, hosted by NWREL. Read more.

Connecting incarcerated parents and their children through inmates' recorded readings of books

Connecting incarcerated parents and their children through inmates' recorded readings of books

In collaboration with local judicial and law-enforcement authorities and a nonprofit child-advocacy organization, RSVP of Allen County, Indiana supplies books and tape-recorders to inmates of a county correctional facility, who then create recordings of themselves reading that are distributed along with the books to their children. The program helps inmates who are parents maintain a meaningful presence in the lives of their children and can serve as an effective model and practical approach for national service programs seeking to promote youth-development and family literacy within a difficult-to-reach subset of families in disadvantaged circumstances. Erich Stiefvater of LEARNS, submitted this effective practice in April 2006. Read more.

Connecting rural families to parenting resources

Connecting rural families to parenting resources

Parents with young children in rural communities are often isolated from the many community resources available to help them create the optimum setting for their children's growth and learning. The Young Children and Families Project in rural Latah County, Idaho, launched several initiatives in 1999 to specifically connect rural parents with community resources. This paper, by AmeriCorps*VISTA Joan Heron, won honorable mention in the 2000 Northwest National Service Symposium, hosted by NWREL. Read more.

Designing a family literacy program

Designing a family literacy program

A family literacy program addresses the literacy needs and barriers of children and their families with a comprehensive plan. This practice, by Family Support America (formerly the Family Resource Coalition), recommends designing a family literacy program by identifying the components of such a program, the criteria on which those components are based, and reviewing other family literacy program models. Read more.

Developing community gardening spaces for low-income families

Developing community gardening spaces for low-income families

In conjunction with Earth Day 2002, AmeriCorps team members in Lincoln, Nebraska coordinated efforts involving youth in the development of community gardening space. Making the most of donated land, AmeriCorps members with the Lincoln Action Program collaborated with other service organizations to transform unused parcels of land into a series of seventy-six 8'x8' gardens in which low-income families will be able to grow produce. Greg Donovan, Program Director of AmeriCorps Child and Family Support Team in Lincoln, Nebraska, submitted this effective practice in April 2002. Read more.

Increasing parent attendance at family night activities

Increasing parent attendance at family night activities

The Western Sussex Boys & Girls Club of Delaware offers free on-site babysitting to parents with infants so the parents can attend activities with their other young children. Trained teenage members of the Boys & Girls Club, who are supervised by an adult staff member, provide the babysitting. As a result, the number of parents attending Family Night has increased. Read more.

Involving families in tutoring programs

Involving families in tutoring programs

Chapter Four from the book On the Road to Reading discusses effective practices to involve families with tutoring programs by incorporating family involvement in program design, establishing relationships between tutor and family, and promoting family literacy. Read more.

Suggesting ideas to families to encourage reading and writing at home

Suggesting ideas to families to encourage reading and writing at home

Family literacy is an important component for a child's individual literacy. Families that emphasize reading and writing as important skills in everyday life tend to have children who learn these skills successfully. These practices, from the Winter 1998 edition of The Tutor, provide national service programs with suggestions they can give to families to encourage children to read and write. Read more.

Supporting family and friends of homicide victims

Supporting family and friends of homicide victims

According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, an estimated 16,204 murders were committed in the United States in 2002. Homicide survivors, a large and vulnerable population, need help grieving their losses. In Memphis, Tennessee, a faith-based organization provides emotional, spiritual and practical support. Azalea Aguilar of the National Crime Prevention Council submitted this effective practice in March 2006. Read more.

Supporting servicemen and women and their families

Supporting servicemen and women and their families

Across the country service men and women from all branches of the military have been called away from home to active duty in difficult and oftentimes dangerous situations. Many of these men and women have left families behind who have special support needs, and their departure has often meant that communities have temporarily lost some of the volunteers who support critical community services. Angela Roberts of the Corporation for National and Community Service shared these ideas on the NSSCTalk e-mail discussion list in February 2003. These are suggestions for projects that Senior Corps volunteers might incorporate in their programs as part of a joint homeland security effort. Read more.

Using a family-oriented approach to English as a Second Language instruction

Using a family-oriented approach to English as a Second Language instruction

The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia recognized a child is more likely to succeed in school if his/her parents are proficient in English. The council began the Family Learning Program, which uses a family-oriented approach to English as a Second Language instruction for parents and children in the community. In a supportive atmosphere, families work together to promote mutual learning. This effective practice was shared at the AmeriCorps*VISTA Faith-Based and Community Organization Conference at the University of Indianapolis, August 20 through August 22, 2001. Read more.

Using family clubs to maintain community well being

Using family clubs to maintain community well being

Communities are only as healthy as the families that inhabit them. The Community Family Club is a small group model that offers quality co-educational youth development programs for parents and children. Utilizing Camp Fire USA curriculum, the program involves the entire family in small group, asset-building activities and experiences. This model builds caring, confident youth and future leaders, facilitates family togetherness, and creates closer, more vital communities. This practice was highlighted on the USA Freedom Corps website in December 2002. Read more.

Using teams of volunteers to assist families out of poverty

Using teams of volunteers to assist families out of poverty

Welfare reform set in motion a movement of families off public assistance along a specific timeline. To assist these families as they transition off welfare, the Texas Department of Human Services developed a community-based partnership to provide families with a team of volunteers for mentoring and support. Family Pathfinders builds teams from faith-based, non-profit and business organizations to help families along the path to self-sufficiency. Read more.

Using thematic backpacks to encourage family literacy

Using thematic backpacks to encourage family literacy

The Schools of Hope Project in Madison, Wisconsin, has implemented a program to promote family literacy in the home. Students take home backpacks filled with books and related activity supplies to share with the whole family. The purpose of the Schools, Parents and Reading Connection (SPARC) backpacks is to provide families with quality books and activities to support and share in their child's interest in reading. Based on survey results, parents reported the SPARC bags encouraged families to read more and do activities together, helped parents build their child's reading skills, and exposed families to new books. Read more.

Volunteering as a family: 20 tips

Volunteering as a family: 20 tips

The value of helping others is modeled in a direct way when families volunteer together and everyone makes a contribution. This effective practice shares service-learning projects that are suitable for whole family participation. Reprinted with permission from an article by Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A., written for Nick Jr. Family Magazine. Read more.