The purpose of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Pinellas County (RSVP) is to create meaningful opportunities for persons 55 years of age and above to participate more fully in the life of their community through volunteer service. RSVP has partnered with Pinellas County Schools to recruit volunteers who are 55+ for the specific opportunities listed below.

About
Lunch Pals is a lunch time mentoring program where businesses, community organizations and individuals are paired with a nearby school to provide students with the additional presence of caring adults.
Each student is identified by school personnel as a child who could especially benefit from a supporting relationship. Sometimes students are facing social, family and/or academic challenges, or are just at a point in their lives where they will especially benefit from an additional positive and encouraging adult who spends time with them. Currently more than 900 individuals and 60 organizations in the Tampa Bay area are part of the Lunch Pals program.

Get Involved
Individuals are matched to an identified nearby school and volunteers spend 30 minutes a week with a student during his or her lunch period on a designated day during the school year. By simply having a positive, consistent figure to read with, to talk with, or to confide in, students become more engaged and more motivated in school.