This document discusses characteristics of volunteer opportunities that are worth repeating for college students. It outlines a qualitative study conducted with 10 volunteer program coordinators from Vermont universities. The coordinators were interviewed about past volunteer events, focusing on positive and negative aspects. Their responses were coded by theme to identify factors that influence whether an event will be repeated. It is hypothesized that high levels of project management and the quality of relationships between coordinators and universities will improve the likelihood a volunteer event is worth repeating for students.

1. Community Service for
College Students
WHAT ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF A
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY WORTH DOING
AGAIN?

6. Let’s ask the Volunteer Coordination
Professionals on 10 Vermont campuses …
What are Characteristics of
a Volunteer Opportunity
Worth Doing Again?

7. And the literature says…
- That each type of student community service contributes to organizational
capacity in specific ways and that student engagement depends on adequate
volunteer management capacity.
- Student volunteers are influenced by a mix of motivations and benefits, with
differences between those volunteering regularly, those volunteering
occasionally, and those not volunteering.
- The relationship between the campus Volunteer Office and the non-profit is
like personal friendship, it needs to be based on good communication, mutual
respect and time together.

8. How do you
unearth the
qualities of a
community
services
activity worth
repeating?

9. Ask Vermont higher education
administrators to describe
student volunteer opportunities
they have been involved in
coordinating.

10. Qualitative Grounded-Theory Approach
WHY?
A qualitative study is appropriate
for “the identification of factors
that influence an outcome”.
Creswell, 2009, p. 18
WHY?
Grounded theory is
recommended when the goal is
to “explore processes, activities,
and events”
Creswell, 2009, p. 177).

11. 10 Program Coordinators,
individual one hour interviews.
Questions prompt them to
describe past volunteer events,
positive and negative.
Responses are recorded, then
coded and cataloged by theme.
Method

12. •“Describe a campus-community partnership that you feel is
successful.
•“What are the characteristics of a volunteer opportunity
that make it successful enough to have been repeated?”
•“What role does your office play in a successful volunteer
opportunity?

13. Hypothesized Results
1. High levels of project
management improves
the likelihood that an
event will be worth
repeating.
2. The quality of the event is
related to the quality of the
relationship between the
coordinators at the non-
profit and the University.