Rogue
Valley Manor Community Services sponsors an arm of the Retired and
Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). This nationwide volunteer program
provides a variety of opportunities for the retired and senior population
to fully participate in the life of their community through significant
volunteer service. Wherever an RSVP is established, it is required to
be sponsored by a non-profit entity; the Jackson County RSVP is sponsored
by the Rogue Valley Manor
and Pacific Retirement Services.
RSVP is also partially funded by the federal government through the Corporation
for National Service.
Anyone 55 years of age or older is eligible to become an RSVP volunteer, whatever their level of experience, education, or income.
RSVP currently has more than 800 registered senior volunteers who provide volunteer services to over 100 non-profit organizations or programs throughout Jackson County. Approximately 500 of these volunteers are active in each calendar quarter; the program recorded 119,099 community service hours during the 2002 fiscal year.
Among the volunteer opportunities provided by RSVP are specific service programs directly coordinated by the program. These include:
Call-A-Ride
This program uses volunteer drivers to transport the elderly or disabled (who have no other means of transportation) to medically related appointments.Respite Care
The Respite volunteers provide a time of relief on a weekly basis to the primary caregiver of an elderly, infirm person. With this service, the caregiver has, as one recipient turned volunteer expresses it, "a time to breathe."SHIBA
SHIBA is the acronym for Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance. This program trains volunteers to assist seniors with Medicare issues including how to choose supplemental insurance and how to understand Medicare's billing process.CARE
CARE stands for Caring Assistance with Resourceful Experience. Volunteers are trained to evaluate day-care homes and to provide assistance, guidance, and training so the homes can achieve certification. This program won the AAHSA 1998 award for Community Service for Youth at Risk.Lunch Buddies
TransMed
RSVP is unique within the southern Oregon community. Its purpose is two-fold: to provide assistance to existing service organizations that have undergone budget cuts, and to help seniors stay active in the life of their community.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for one of our programs, click here.
For more information, please refer to the following websites:
