Healthy Futures

• Supporting seniors who are aging in place
• Promoting healthy living
• Serving those facing end-of-life through hospice
• Collecting food for families facing emergency situations

Education

• Tutoring, Teacher’s aids, School libraries, Helping with events

Capacity Building

• Raising funds through thrift shop sales to support childcare scholarships

Veterans

• Helping veterans access VA benefits
• Supporting veterans living at home as long as they are able

Community Priorities

• Using volunteer expertise and talent to meet needs in the community

Caring Companions

Caring Companion volunteers make friendly visits to isolated people who are older and/or have a disability. A wide range of services is offered, from housekeeping to conversation, based on the needs of the neighbor and the interests of the volunteer. Thoughtful matches are made based on the abilities, preferences, and home locations of both people.

Knit–n-Stitch

RSVP volunteers knit, sew or crochet a wide variety of items for those in need: stuffed hug-a-bears, lap robes, hats, mittens for children in crisis, patients undergoing chemotherapy, premature newborns, and elders. Much of this creative work is completed at home, but weekly gatherings provide a time for socializing, if desired.

Bulk Mail Team

RSVP’s bulk mail team provides services to local nonprofit agencies. They help with stapling, folding, labeling, and sorting bulk mailing of all varieties. Led by an RSVP volunteer who is retired from the bulk mailing department of the post office, this group is a treasured community resource for a wide variety of agencies.

Opportunity House

Opportunity House, located at 907 W. 11th Street, is a thrift store run nearly entirely by RSVP volunteers, from the management to the cashiers. In partnership with Monroe County United Ministries (MCUM), Opp House serves the community by promoting environmental sustainability through repair, re-purposing, and re-use of all types of household items and clothing. Opp House is open to anyone who wishes to shop there, but is proud to reach out to those who are in financial crisis or who have experienced a personal disaster, by providing household items and clothing to them without charge.

Intergenerational Project

Working in conjunction with The Campus Children’s Center at Indiana University, RSVP volunteers visit and regularly interact with infants and preschoolers who attend the childcare center. In doing so, the volunteers provide these children with access to and companionship with an age group that the children often are lacking in their daily lives. Volunteers assist with classroom activities, read books, tell stories, and rock babies, developing friendships with the youngsters that strengthen their knowledge of the past and their awareness of the importance of diversity. Occasionally, volunteers are needed as interviewees to measure the importance of intergenerational relationships.

RSVP 55+ Volunteer Center

Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1010 S Walnut St., Perry Township Public Meeting Room

Every Tuesday, RSVP holds a day for “tabletop” volunteer projects for local nonprofits such as assembling packets, sorting materials, arts and craft work, shredding documents, stuffing envelopes, etc. Enjoy coffee and the company of other volunteers! Join us for a couple of hours, or bring a sack lunch and stay the day.