Matching Items (4)
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- All Subjects: Nonprofits
- Creators: School of Human Evolution and Social Change
Description
Volunteer motivation and satisfaction were assessed at Project CURE, a nonprofit that collects, sorts, tests, and ships donated medical supplies and equipment to healthcare facilities in developing countries. This research was the result of a yearlong partnership between the Community Action Research Experiences (CARE) program and Project CURE. Volunteers at Project CURE were surveyed (N=147) after completing a volunteer session to assess their motivation for volunteering, satisfaction with their experience, and any recommendations they had for improving the volunteer program. Five categories of motivating factors were assessed and it was found that the Values and Understanding categories were the strongest motivating factors. Overall, volunteers rated their experience highly, but the results indicated a number of small changes that Project CURE could make to better meet volunteers' needs, and better communicate the impact of volunteers' work, which could pave the way to increases in the numbers of volunteer hours Project CURE receives and increased quality of volunteer work.
ContributorsStepanek, Rachel (Author) / Reesing, Amy (Thesis director) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Service learning has become an integral part of the pre-departure volunteer training program of Amigos de las Américas. However, the understanding and implementation of related curricula has been inconsistent and, at times, unreflective of the principles of this learning strategy. Through a literature review and interviews with training representatives from chapters across the country, a better understanding of service learning itself, as well as the way it is carried out within the organization today, were key elements in gathering information and evaluating what can be changed to make this more effective in the Amigos de las Américas context. Results showed that confusion amongst the chapters and lack of resources obstructed the implementation of true service learning in many cases. Thus, a proposal to integrate the service learning and general training requirements, as well as a model to evaluate the effectiveness of service learning, resulted.
ContributorsGruensfelder, Lindsey Marie (Author) / Mook, Laurie (Thesis director) / Rodriguez, Ariel (Committee member) / Ball, Deborah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Alas de Amor is a fairly new organization whose most significant need right now is to grow in numbers and remain growing. This growth is important to the organization because it will allow them to not only treat and see more patients while in Mexico, but it will also benefit the organization in terms of presence in the Phoenix area and general knowledge of the organization. Volunteers are in some ways are unpaid marketing tools because they tell their peers about the experiences they have and encourage those they know to join the cause as well ("Why Involve Volunteers?," n.d.). As demonstrated through prior research on volunteering, volunteer motivations and satisfaction play an important role in retaining volunteers. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the motivations, satisfaction, and likelihood of continuation in volunteering for the individuals who have served as volunteers at Alas de Amor within the past year.
ContributorsFriedland, Juliette Marie (Author) / Gaertner, Bridget (Thesis director) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Research has examined the many motivations of international volunteers (voluntourists), but there is limited research about how volunteers are reached, as well as differing perceptions between travelers who have and have not traveled before. This study examines the preferences and perspectives of college-age, western backpackers. The general terms "backpacker" and "traveler" are used throughout the paper for simplicity, but it is important to note that these backpackers are specifically from the college-age, western demographic. First, the study addresses which recruitment avenues are the most successful, as well as which avenues could be utilized to increase the number of foreign, short-term volunteers. In addition, this study examines the differences between backpacker perceptions - specifically the differences in potential volunteering motivations and concerns. Data was collected through an anonymous online survey distributed to self-identified travelers between the ages of 18 and 25 in the United States and travel destinations in Vietnam and India. According to traveler responses, personal recommendations and hotels/hostels are important resources when making travel plans. Despite the importance of both resources, personal recommendations drew more travelers to volunteer than hostels/hotels (none of the travelers surveyed learned about their last volunteer opportunity through a hostel), revealing a potential avenue of recruitment. A small number of organizations have reported successfully utilizing the hostel-partnership model, which implies that successful partnerships are possible. Further, potential motivations to volunteer were similar between those who have and those who have not volunteered, however, potential concerns between the two groups differed. Those who had volunteered before reported to be considerably more concerned about adherence to cultural norms, as well as communication barriers, while those who had not volunteered were much more concerned about safety. These findings lead to several theoretical implications for nonprofits with respect to utilizing hostels for volunteer recruitment, as well as addressing concerns of those who have volunteered before differently from those who have not.
ContributorsWorkman, Hunter (Co-author) / Pfeiffer, Nicholaus (Co-author) / Wang, Lili (Thesis director) / Salamone, Damien (Committee member) / Louis, Arulraj (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05