Visions of Charity Volunteer Workers and Moral Community

"The collapse of community and the death of character have become familiar laments, but few commentators offer positive solutions grounded in solid empirical research.Visions of Charityexamines how people develop "moral selves" through acts of service to the needy. Through her balanced assessment of the moral meanings that volunteers attach to their service activities, Allahyari charts a way to reinvigorate our sense of community and character."--Robert Wuthnow, author ofLoose Connections: Joining Together in America's Fragmented Communities "People work hard to create their moral selves, and Rebecca Allahyari shows us many of the ways they do it.Visions of Charitydescribes the emotional processes and the creative processes as well as the moral rhetoric involved. The power of Allahyari's account comes from an unusual comparison between two Sacramento charities aiding the homeless, one a branch of the Salvation Army, the other a left-leaning Catholic organization. Because she did extensive fieldwork at each, she offers a fine-grained portrait of 'moral selving' from the bottom up. What is more-her experience forced her to abandon her initial expectations about which group treated the homeless with greater dignity and respect."--James M. Jasper, author ofThe Art of Moral Protest: Culture, Biography, and Creativity in Social MovementsAllahyari, Rebecca Anne is the author of 'Visions of Charity Volunteer Workers and Moral Community', published 2000 under ISBN 9780520221451 and ISBN 0520221451.