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Glossary of Terms
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Select a letter below to view specific glossary entries.
| A | C | D | E | G | H | I | L | N | P | S | V |
- Ethic of community service
- - implies that all citizens are always encouraged to act in ways that enhance the community’s welfare.
- Governor’s Award for Volunteering Excellence (GAVE)
- - Statewide volunteer recognition program established by a joint resolution of the Virginia General Assembly in 1984 to provide increased visibility for the achievements of volunteers throughout the Commonwealth. The award became the Governor’s Community Service and Volunteerism Awards program in 1995.
- Governor’s Community Service and Volunteerism Awards
- - Established in 1995 by Executive Order, this statewide volunteer recognition program was developed by the then Governor’s Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service (now Governor’s Advisory Board on National and Community Service) and staffed by the Virginia Office of Volunteerism (VOV) until 1999. At that time, the Virginia Advisory Board assumed responsibility for the award with assistance from VOV.
- Host site
- - this is an entity that acts as a project sponsor and is responsible for the actual site on which a project is to be performed. This entity may provide task specific training, technical assistance supervision, or other services as agreed to in a “contract” between the programs and the host site.
- In-kind donation
- - a voluntary contribution of materials that may or may not accompany volunteer work. The Virginia State Government Volunteers Act also recognizes opportunities made available to an organization’s clients—a camp scholarship, a job referral, an introduction to a benefactor—as an in-kind donation.
- Independent Sector
- - a national leadership forum, working to encourage philanthropy, volunteering, nonprofit initiatives and citizen action to better serve people and communities.
- InterCorps Council (ICC)
- - InterCorps Councils connect and coordinate programs statewide, share resources, promote leadership skills and an ethic of service, and provide a forum for service members to voice collective opinions and ideas.
- Learn and Serve
- - Learn and Serve America provides grants to schools, colleges, and nonprofit groups to support efforts to engage students in community service linked to academic achievement and the development of civic skills. This type of learning, called service learning, improves communities while preparing young people for a lifetime of responsible citizenship. In addition to providing grants, Learn and Serve America serves as a resource on service and service-learning to teachers, faculty members, schools, and community groups.
- Living allowance
- - a living allowance is a stipend. It is provided to corps members enrolled and active in an AmeriCorps program. A living allowance is not a “wage”; it is not a “salary”; it is not based on the number of hours a corps member serves. Other national service programs providing living allowances include Peace Corps, Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions.
- National identity
- - The sense of purpose and membership in a common program that all AmeriCorps members share. National identity can be strengthened by everything from buttons and T-shirts to reflection activities, common national service projects and civic education.
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