Date: Fri 26-Sep-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

RSVP-senior-volunteers-Dempsky

Full Text:

RSVP Seeks To Augment Its Corps Or Senior Volunteers

The Northern Fairfield County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) will

kick off an intensive drive to add to its rolls of volunteers aged 55 and over

with a tea at the Newtown Senior Center at 1 pm on Tuesday, September 30.

Jo-Ann Smith Dempsky, a Newtown resident and new director of RSVP, said the

drive is the area's biggest concentrated challenge ever in recruiting

volunteers for the at-large non-profit community. RSVP provides volunteers to

more than 75 area charities and non-profit organizations.

"We're targeting a 20 percent increase in our current membership of 485 by the

end of May 1998," Ms Dempsky said. "The recruiting campaign will include teas

at senior centers throughout the seven-town area of Bethel, Brookfield,

Danbury, New Fairfield, Newtown, Redding and Ridgefield, and also craft

workshops, mailings, and speaker's forums."

The campaign has been timed to coordinate with RSVP's national 25th

anniversary week of October 5-11. In all, more than 450,000 RSVP volunteers

serve 60,000 non-profit agencies in the United States and its possessions.

Ms Dempsky said RSVP opportunities are so appealing that seniors won't be able

to ignore them.

"Medical studies show that staying active in retirement not only exceeds the

quality of life, but also extends it," she said. "If older people really

understood how important continued active participation in the community is to

their well being, we would have block-long lines and social service agencies

could increase services dramatically."

At the same time, the burden of providing support for people in need is

increasingly shifting from government to the private sector. As a result, more

volunteer help is needed.

"The problem is that many agencies are being forced to serve increasing

numbers of people faster than they can get volunteer help or other resources

to cope," Ms Dempsky said.

"While RSVP doesn't provide money, it does provide people. But we need more of

them," she said.

Locally, RSVP is sponsored by the Western Connecticut Chapter of the American

Red Cross. The agency has been enrolling volunteers, training them and lending

them to nonprofit agencies in the Greater Danbury area since 1972.

Twenty-seven current RSVP volunteers live in Newtown.

Typically, RSVP matches its volunteers with agency needs on a basis convenient

and comfortable for the individual volunteer. That means as little as a few

hours a month, or as many hours as one can give a day or week, Ms Dempsky

said.

Among current opportunities for volunteers in this area are clerical work,

driving, tour guiding, activities coordinator, friendly visiting, friendly

telephoning, mentoring, tutoring, knitting, quilting, gardening, gift shop,

meal delivery, handy person, and health care.

The original RSVP concept emerged from a 1960s Staten Island, New York, pilot

program. Today nearly 800 RSVPs nationwide have about 500,000 volunteers who

serve 60,000 nonprofit organizations in the United States.

RSVP is supported by federal, state and local dollars. The funding permits

RSVP volunteers to have free supplemental accident and liability insurance and

limited mileage reimbursement during their volunteer service.

Some volunteers bring professional talents to agency projects but most

volunteer jobs require no special knowledge. Volunteers decide how much time

they can give and to which assignments.

For more information about the RSVP program, call 792-8200.