A youth ministry needs a solid group of volunteers to be truly effective. We youth workers all know this—but how do we make it happen? Let’s be honest: Many of us don’t do a great job of mobilizing volunteers and equipping them for ministry. Our plate is already full, and building a great team sounds like yet another task to add to the list. But what if your efforts to mobilize and equip volunteers actually lightened your schedule? What if this investment of time actually paid back double, quadruple, or even tenfold? The Skinny on Volunteers will help you concentrate on three simple skills that will help you build a crew of effective leaders: recruiting, keeping, and training volunteers. Yes, volunteers take time. But you’ll discover the rewards of investing in a team of people who will love teenagers, connect with them, and disciple them.

Travel industry experts report that more and more people are combining vacations with volunteer work—the growing phenomenon called "voluntourism." Professionals predict this will be a key growth area for years to come; the voluntourists themselves find it a rewarding activity, good for body and soul. And nobody provides such a fun, inviting overview of the possibilities as savvy travel writer Pam Grout in the latest title in our 100 Best Vacations series. With its elegant two-color design, playful cover, and winningly positive goal, it’s a travel guide with heart, inexpensive yet inspiring—an ideal gift book for people who care to share. From building houses in Appalachia to saving sea turtles in Costa Rica to teaching English in Thailand, this book is a rich resource of ways to use your skills to help out the world and reap some lasting benefits yourself. Like its two predecessors, it includes an engagingly descriptive menu of choices for tastes and talents of all kinds, along with detailed specifics to turn good intentions into satisfying reality. Throughout, sidebars describe nearby places to visit, little-known facts, and more, providing depth and variety, while a comprehensive resource listing gives additional information about the different organizations offering volunteer vacations.

This editionNpart of the Traveler's Handbook seriesNguides new and veteran travelers through the challenges of finding, vetting, and choosing their ideal volunteer experience all over the world.

Ann Cleeves makes a much-anticipated return with another investigation for her brilliant detective DCI Vera Stanhope, brought to life in the hit TV series Vera by Brenda Blethyn.

Discover the groundbreaking method to defeat diabetes without drugs using the step-by-step diet plans and recipes from #1 New York Times bestselling author Dr. Michael Mosley. The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet is a radical new approach to the biggest health epidemic threatening us today... Our modern diet, high in low-quality carbohydrates, is damaging our bodies—producing a constant overload of sugar in our bloodstream that clogs up our arteries and piles hidden fat into our internal organs. The result has been a doubling in the number of type 2 diabetics, as well as a surge in those with a potentially hazardous condition—prediabetes. It is now known that even moderately elevated blood sugar levels can trigger heart disease, stroke, dementia, and cancer. But scientists have recently demonstrated that you can prevent and even reverse type 2 diabetes with a simple change in diet and lifestyle. Drawing on the work of Dr. Roy Taylor—one of the UK’s foremost diabetes experts—and his own experience as a one-time diabetic, Dr. Michael Mosley presents a groundbreaking, science-based, 8-week plan for diabetics who want to reverse their condition (and then stay off medication). He also offers a more flexible regime for people interested in the extensive health benefits to be gained from lowering their blood sugar levels and shedding dangerous fat. As Dr. Mosley says, it is never too late to act.

5K training plans tailored just for busy moms! Whether you're looking for a convenient way to lose lingering baby weight or just want to get in shape to keep up with your kids, See Mom Run will help you achieve all of your fitness goals. Running strengthens your physical body and empowers the mind, a one-two punch to get you through the overloaded days of motherhood. Run Like a Mother 5K founder (and busy mother of three) Megan Searfoss shows you how to take those first steps toward the healthy habit of running, with the goal of completing a 5K race. She teaches you running basics, plus how to eat healthy, strength train, and choose your gear—all in a time-saving, cost-effective way. She will help you assess your fitness level and choose a realistic, week-by-week training plan that you can squeeze in before daycare or school, during lunch dates, or after dinner when the rest of the family is settled in for the night. As your fitness progresses, her programs safely challenge you to move from walking to intervals of walking and running to running continuously. At any speed, See Mom Run will help you cross the finish line and continue running for life!

Deep within each one of us lies the ability to step up and care for those in need, even though we often feel overwhelmed by a complex world. In fact, more than 200 million people throughout the world offer their time and love to volunteering.