Retired and Senior Volunteer Program

Description

RSVP (the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) is part of Senior Corps, a network of national service programs that provides older Americans the opportunity to apply their life experience to meeting community needs. RSVP volunteers serve in a diverse range of nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and faith-based groups. Among other activities, they mentor at-risk youth, organize neighborhood watch programs, test drinking water for contaminants, teach English to immigrants, and lend their business skills to community groups that provide critical social services. In fiscal year 2001, approximately 480,000 volunteers served an average of four hours a week at an estimated 65,000 local organizations. RSVP is open to people age 55 and over. Partners/Operations Local organizations, both public and private, receive grants to sponsor and operate RSVP projects in their community. These projects recruit seniors to serve from a few hours a month to almost full time, though the average commitment is four hours a week. Most volunteers are paired with local community and faithbased organizations that are already helping to meet community needs.