RSVP Central
The Volunteer Center of Lewis, Thurston, and Mason Counties will no longer be affiliated with the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP) as of January 1, 2011. The Volunteer Center will now have more freedom and flexibility to fulfill the promises we make to our volunteers in service of their community. We're focused on raising the quality of the volunteer experience for every volunteer, and for us this is less a question of hours logged and more a question of impacting the community in every way we can.
What does this mean for RSVP volunteers?
All RSVP volunteers are very important to us at the Volunteer Center, and we will continue to work with them to connect them to volunteer opportunities and recognize their impact on the community. Volunteers will not to need to re-register. You'll have the option to turn in your hours to qualify for Presidential Service Awards if you would like.
What does this mean for RSVP stations?
We will continue to assist the agencies where RSVP volunteers have worked, and will in fact now have more time to devote to their needs. There will now be less paperwork for agencies, and placing volunteers in their agency will be a much simpler process. We will continue to recognize volunteers through our agency as well through special events in each county.
What does this mean for Volunteer Center staff?
All of our offices will remain open, and our current staff will stay on in their positions, though slightly reorganized. With the time we were spending on managing the RSVP grant we will be making our volunteer opportunities database more accessible and useful for volunteers and agencies alike. In addition, we'll be tracking volunteer leaders who work with us and the agencies we work with, in order to support them as best we can, and build capacity for our volunteer-driven special events that benefit the community at large.
What does this mean for Volunteer Center Services?
At the Volunteer Center we're focused on raising the quality of the volunteer experience for every volunteer and will still be offering these services:
- referrals through our online volunteer opportunity database
- support to help volunteers find the right project for them
- classes and trainings
- meetings for volunteer managers
- volunteer recognition events
- Presidential Service Awards
- volunteer mileage reimbursement for low-income seniors
- guidance for volunteer leaders who start new projects
- volunteer insurance to volunteers over 55 through July 1, 2011
What does this mean for our Board of Directors?
The Volunteer Center board will be supporting the staff in building capacity for future programs and carrying out our plan to diversify our funding sources.
In short, this change is reflective of a new era for volunteerism and service; while in the past we've counted hours served and used that as proof of service to the community, the new direction of service has a focus on impact. We believe this direction is the way we can best serve our volunteers, our local agencies, and the community at large. Our mission is to inspire, mobilize, and engage volunteers to solve community issues - and the RSVP program is no longer closely matched with our mission and the promises we make to volunteers: to provide opportunities for everyone, to partner with them for success, and to effectively engage them to solve community problems.
To continue reporting hours for this (soon to be renamed) program, please click here.
