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A preliminary evaluation of the Florida International Volunteer Corps Service Programs
- Authors:
- JESTER Vickie M., THYER Bruce A.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Comparative Social Welfare, 23(1), April 2007, pp.7-18.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article describes a preliminary evaluation of the service programs provided by the Florida International Volunteer Corps, an international outreach service of the Florida Association of Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas, Inc. (FAVA/CA). FAVA/CA is a private not-for-profit organization founded in 1981 to improve social and economic conditions in Central America and the Caribbean. Results from our retrospective and prospective summative evaluations indicate that the responding volunteers and the partner organizations were generally satisfied with their participation in the program and rated the experience as excellent and extremely helpful. In addition, we found that continued contact between the volunteers and the participants occurred frequently among the survey respondents, a good benchmark of the sustainability of the projects. Limitations of this preliminary analysis are discussed and future directions for evaluating FAVA/CA programs are presented. The participation of social workers, persons from the private business sector, educators and other professionals in FAVA/CA's international development projects represents one important manifestation of the valuing of volunteerism and of the globalization of social service programs.