October 4, 2001 | Read Time: 2 minutes
No Limits to Caring: A Ministry of Service Since 1896
Volunteers of America, founded in 1896 with the straightforward goal to “go wherever we are needed and do whatever comes to hand,” has grown into a large and influential charity over the past 100-plus years. Its work as a nondenominational group providing human services and opportunities for volunteerism now involves more than 11,000 professional staff members and 40,000 volunteers nationwide, according to this book.
In the postscript, Charles W. Gould, president of Volunteers of America, writes that the charity’s story is one “of an exciting force in American history—a force that began as a movement, propelled by the personal energy, commitment, and faith of Maud and Ballington Booth and their contemporaries.” Mr. and Mrs. Booth, the group’s founders, were the son and daughter-in-law of William Booth and Catherine Mumford Booth, whose work with the Methodist Societies led in 1878 to the creation of the Salvation Army.
The book, produced by Volunteers of America, chronicles the organization’s development from its founding to the present day and lays out the historical context for the group’s good works. Chapters address the group’s work in behalf of children, youth, and families and the elderly; its efforts to provide disaster relief, job training, and shelter for the homeless; its work with ex-offenders and substance abusers; and its projects to provide health and housing for needy people. Another section focuses on the volunteers who “help make the range of human services a reality” and on the group’s priorities for the future. Photographs illustrate the group’s work, and sidebars tell the stories of specific groups affected by the activities of Volunteers of America.
Publisher: Volunteers of America, 1660 Duke Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314-3421; (800) 899-0089; fax (703) 341-7000; http://www.volunteersofamerica.org; 152 pages; $12.95; I.S.B.N. 1-885287-03-8.
