ARC Expands Volunteer Opportunities for Older Adults to Help Others
(ATLANTA - October 1, 2008) Volunteer opportunities for adults 55 and older are expanding in metro Atlanta thanks to a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). The grant will support the RSVP program, the country’s largest volunteer network for people age 55 and older. And, although it has been around for nearly 40 years, RSVP is changing to capture the talents of the 78 million baby boomers who are looking for meaningful, challenging ways to give back to the community.
ARC recently received the $180,000 grant to roll out the new RSVP in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties. Volunteer opportunities will focus on civic engagement, community education and outreach to help older adults and people with disabilities maintain healthy, independent lifestyles.
ARC has identified eight key areas where volunteers will be able to enhance local and regional programs and fill in gaps in services:
• Consumer fraud
• Computer literacy
• Medicare counseling
• Access to services
• Environmental awareness
• Disaster preparedness
• Education about preventive health care services
• Assistance to seniors
Volunteers will provide counseling and community education about these and other issues and programs of interest to seniors. The focus will be on increasing awareness about key issues so that consumers can make more informed decisions. Volunteers will also help recruit additional volunteers, assist with orientation and training and promote opportunities for volunteering. Programs will be tailored to the local community, however, and each county may offer different volunteer opportunities, depending on the unique needs of that locality.
Commenting on the new initiative, Cathie Berger, chief of ARC’s Aging Services Division, said, “We believe that the RSVP program will be a win for both the participating organizations and the individual volunteers. The counties will have a group of highly trained volunteers to provide education and outreach, thereby freeing staff for other responsibilities. The volunteers will have rich and varied opportunities to remain engaged and provide service to their community.”
The goal of RSVP is to help local communities by encouraging people age 55 and over to volunteer. RSVP volunteers choose how, where and how often they want to serve. Studies show that continued activity and civic engagement throughout the life span affect health in a positive way. RSVP enriches lives of older adults by offering opportunities to learn new skills and remain active while addressing critical needs of older adults and those with disabilities.
Training is available for each volunteer position, and in-service training will help volunteers improve their knowledge and skills and network with others. The program also offers mileage reimbursement as well as accident and liability insurance to protect RSVP volunteers while they are engaged in their volunteer duties assigned by their volunteer organization.
The RSVP program is an important component of ARC’s Lifelong Communities initiative. Through that effort, ARC is working with local communities to create a regional response to the growing older adult population from the ground up. The three-pronged approach is developing strategies to provide the housing and transportation options older adults need, encourage healthy lifestyles and expand access to information and services. RSVP volunteers will play a critical role providing community education and outreach so that older adults can make informed choices about available services and programs.
For information about specific volunteer opportunities, call the Atlanta Regional Commission at 404.463.3119.
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