January 2007
Happy New Year! With Christmas
behind us and our resolutions still fresh on our minds, it’s time to ask
ourselves, “What can I do to improve the community I live in, and help
others that are going through hard times.” The answer is volunteer. Make
volunteering one of your New Year’s resolutions.
RSVP was created especially for
people aged 55 years or older who have a lifetime of experience to share
with their local community. The goal of RSVP is to utilize the
interests, skills and abilities of this growing population by providing
stimulating opportunities for personal development through placement in
satisfying and rewarding positions in volunteer service areas.
RSVP is made up of people age 55
or older who have the time and energy to contribute to the community
through volunteer work. They come from all walks of life: teachers,
homemakers, health care workers, CPA’s retired military, farmers,
salespersons, managers, homemakers, etc.
If you already volunteer, you may
sign up without being required to do more. There are absolutely no
membership fees or dues, plus all member are provided with free personal
accident and personal liability insurance to, from and during the
performance of their volunteer duties. Becoming a member is easy; simply
call the RSVP office at 742-2423.
RSVP has a new work station. It is
the Alzheimer’s Association which is housed at the Garrison Institute on
Aging facility at Quaker Avenue and the South Loop. It is fairly new to
Lubbock and the Outreach Coordinator, Jessicca Hallmark, is busy getting
it up and running. At this point, Jessicca is a one woman operation, and
will need many volunteers throughout the year. The Alzheimer’s
Association will have three major functions during the year. The first
function is the Caregiver Symposium on January 23, 2007, followed by the
Memory Walk on April 14th and ending the year with the Memory Gala in
November. Volunteers are needed to help plan and organize each function,
raise money, and help with mail-outs. Most of us have been affected by
Alzheimer’s disease, either through family members or friends. It is a
devastating disease that affects the whole family, and is particularly
hard on the primary caregiver. As a volunteer, you could be a major
influence in the development of a successful Lubbock Alzheimer’s
Association. If you want to know more about how you can help please call
our office at 742-2423.
OTHER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
The Lubbock Adult Day Center
needs a volunteer to play chess and/or checkers once or twice a week
with a man who is confined to a wheelchair due to an accident. His
father states he is quite good at chess, and the mental stimulation
helps with his outlook on life. If you are a chess player, this is an
opportunity to really help one man on a personal level that will improve
his quality of life and probably yours, too. Please call RSVP for more
information.
The Bridge of Lubbock Soup
Kitchen is in need of volunteers to serve meals every Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday from 10:45 am to 1:45 pm. They need four or five
volunteers per two hour shift each day. The Soup Kitchen is located in
the old Posey elementary school. We have more details at the RSVP
office, so please call us.
The Coalition of Community
Assistance Volunteers is a non-profit organization that prepares and
e-files income tax returns free for low income taxpayers in our
community. CCAV assisted more than 3,400 taxpayers with their returns
for tax year 2005 – and saved them more than $700,000 in unnecessary tax
prep and refund fees. A brief training for Greeters will be held prior
to January 16th. Training for Tax Preparers will be held in January,
2007 in three parts at Texas Tech’s Business Administration Building:
Basic (Part 1)
Thursday, January 4 – or – Thursday, January 11
Time: 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Wage Earner (Part 2)
Saturday, January 6 – or – Saturday, January 13
Time 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Pension (Part 3)
Saturday, January 6 – or – Saturday, January 13
Time: 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm
(Lunch will be served for those who attend Parts 2 and 3 on the same
Saturday.)
To
volunteer, or for more information about these or other volunteer
positions, please call the RSVP office at 742-2423.
HOW do I join RSVP?
Becoming a member of RSVP is simple as long as you are at least 55 and have some time to volunteer. Just call the office at 742-2423 and chat with Ronda Casey or
Dana Bear about your interests. If you are not certain what you would like to do, we can mention several current volunteer opportunities and send you a list of the sort of jobs which RSVP members are presently doing to whet your appetite. If you have a special skill or talent that you would like to utilize, we will search to find just the right job for you. Just mail in the
enrollment form
(requires Adobe Reader) and we will call you!
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