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Calling all retired military guys and gals! The Lubbock Satellite Retiree Activity Office (RAO) wants you! Although Reese Air Force Base has closed, the former Reese AFB Military Retiree Activities Office is still in existence and helping retirees throughout this area. Assistance is available to all military retirees, widows, dependents, etc. from the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. The office is now located at the Armed Forces Guard/Reserve Center building on the corner of Regis Street and Highway I-27 (near the airport). The command at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls has authorized this office as a satellite to their Retiree Activities Office and it provides telephone, answering machine, computer, e-mail and Internet capabilities to support the program administratively and financially. The office is open only on Tuesday through Friday each week from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in room 102 of the Guard/Reserve Center. Presently, building security is at a very high level and persons wishing to work in or visit the RAO will have to park in the designated area, come in the door on the west side, and use the telephone there to call the office to gain entrance. Several volunteers are serving to keep the office open and available, but they would really like some other military retirees to join them in running the office.

Volunteers will find a wealth of knowledge available that they can access to help active duty or retired members of the armed services and their families with a myriad of problems. Information may be obtained on the services available at other bases in the area, where health insurance claims and information for Tri-Care and Tri-Care-For-Life programs may be discussed, who can answer questions pertaining to medical or pharmacy benefits to military retirees and dependents, and the location of the nearest ID card issuance site. One of the programs the volunteers would like to initiate is a military widows/widowers support group. The death of a spouse is such a traumatic time, but there is assistance for all military dependents through channels already in existence. Anyone who has gone through the experience would be a great resource for other women/men who find themselves in a similar situation. If you have “walked in those shoes”, think about the kind of support you could provide to make the road a little easier for other people.

Volunteering in the Lubbock Satellite Retiree Activities Office not only helps others, but would also make you aware of all the various programs and activities from which you may benefit as a retired military member of our community. Won’t you consider adding a few hours a week of service in your schedule to “Be all that you can be?”

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY is doing another Blitz Build to create 15 new homes the week of September 7-14, providing simple, decent and affordable house for and with the help of families in need. If you don’t know much about building, training workshops teach construction skills in a user-friendly environment. You may discover that you can do something you previously thought to be impossible, and have fun while you are learning and working. Of the fifteen homes, three will be built entirely by women. If construction work is not for you, you may still provide invaluable service that week by helping with registration, childcare, food service, transportation, or office work. Whatever your skills and interests, you can positively impact the future of America’s children by making homeownership a reality for these Lubbock families.

HOSPICE OF LUBBOCK, 1102 Slide Road, Suite #3 (Redbud Shopping Center), is a philosophy of care that allows the terminally ill to die in peace and comfort, at home with loved ones close by. Volunteers are a vital part of their team. The agency provides a total of 36 hours of free training which is a requirement to be a hospice volunteer. Training for this year will be held the first weekend in October plus each Tuesday and Thursday evening through October 17th. If you do not think that direct patient services are your forte, consider giving some time to the Redbud Boutique, the Hospice thrift shop. It is also located in the Redbud Shopping Center and you may help out there anytime Monday through Saturday for 10:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Days and times are flexible according to your schedule. 

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 Bonne Phillips 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!