Visions of Charity : Volunteer Workers and Moral Community

Annotation In the United States, public talk about charity for the poor is highly moralistic, even in our era of welfare reform. But how do we understand the actual experience of caring for the poor? This study looks at the front lines of volunteer involvement with the poor and homeless to assess what volunteer work means for those who do it. Rebecca Allahyari profiles volunteers at two charities--Loaves & Fishes and The Salvation Army--to show how they think about themselves and their work, providing new ways for discussing charity and morality. Allahyari explores these agencies' differing ideological orientations and the raced, classed, and gendered contexts they provide volunteers for doing charitable work. Drawing on participant observation, intensive interviewing, and content analysis of organizational publications, she looks in particular at the process of self-improvement for these volunteers. The competing visions of charity Allahyari finds at these two organizations reveal the complicated and contradictory politics of caring for the poor in the United States today

"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 Charity examines 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 of Loose 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 Charity describes 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 of The Art of Moral Protest: Culture, Biography, and Creativity in Social Movements

Introduction: Studying Visions Of Charity -- Pt. 1. Working Arrangements Of Charitable Action. 1. Performing Personalist Hospitality Works Of Mercy And Social Justice At Loaves & Fishes. 2. Administering Salvationism: Evangelism And Alcoholics Anonymous At The Salvation Army -- Pt. 2. Constructing Moral Selves. 3. Moral Selving Within Personalist Hospitality: Commitment, Gratitude, And Witnessing. 4. Moral Selving Within Salvationism: Sobriety, Work, And Redemption -- Pt. 3. Moral Visions Of The Welfare State. 5. The Politics Of Charity: Constructing Moral Selves In Religion And Conflict. Epilogue: Keeping The Faith At Loaves & Fishes. Rebecca Anne Allahyari. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 253-271) And Index. Visions of Charity looks at the front lines of volunteer involvement with the poor and homeless to assess what volunteer work means for those who do it. Rebecca Allahyari profiles committed volunteers at two charities -- Loaves & Fishes and The Salvation Army -- to show how they think about themselves and their work. Allahyari explores these agencies' differing ideological orientations and the raced, classed, and gendered contexts they provide volunteers for doing charitable work. The competing visions of charity that Allahyari finds at these two organizations reveal the complicated and contradictory politics of caring for the poor in the United States today. Preliminaries......Page 1 CONTENTS......Page 7 Preface......Page 9 Acknowledgments......Page 11 Introduction......Page 15 1. Performing Personalist Hospitality......Page 49 2. Administering Salvationism......Page 88 3. Moral Selving within Personalist Hospitality......Page 123 4. Moral Selving within Salvationism......Page 166 5. The Politics of Charity......Page 219 Epilogue......Page 251 Notes......Page 255 References......Page 267 Index......Page 287 In the US, public talk about charity is highly moralistic, even in an era of welfare reform. This study looks at the front lines of volunteer involvement with the poor and homeless at two specific charities to assess what volunteer work means for those who do it Loaves & Fishes and The Salvation Army exemplify contrasting philosophies of doing Christian charity.