RSVP's older adult volunteers provide needed services throughout Mesa County, improving their own mental health and sense of self-worth while making life better for those in our community. Without them, many services provided by non-profits would just not happen.
Changing lives one volunteer at a time
Mesa County RSVP, Inc. has been a vital part of the Grand Valley since 1973. All donated dollars directly benefit our local community in the areas of education, health care access, home safety, arts and culture, commerce, food access, mental health, environment, homelessness, veterans' services, child advocacy, and so many more. We use our modest funding for outreach, recruiting and training volunteers, and helping other non-profits achieve short- and long-term service goals. For nearly 50 years, we have worked with local non-profit agencies, recruiting older adult volunteers to donate time, skills, experience, and enthusiasm toward agency missions. Annually, our 560 volunteers contribute 75,000 hours to 60 agencies, which equates to $2 million in services donated. We have three full-time employees, one part-time employee, a simple office, and we never charge for our services.
In addition to the agencies we serve, RSVP houses three signature projects:
State Health Insurance Assistance Program (RSVP SHIP Project) volunteers help those eligible for or already on Medicare sign up for and understand their Medicare coverage;
RSVP Handyman Project volunteers help the disabled and low-income elderly live in their own homes by performing minor repairs and constructing wheelchair ramps and walker steps to improve mobility and self-sufficiency;
RSVP Senior Scholar Project volunteers tutor children who might otherwise not receive the individualized attention and encouragement they need to be successful in school and life.
Pamela lives with cancer. Between chemo, radiation, many surgeries, and painful neuropathy in her feet, she has numerous doctor appointments. To leave home, it took two people on either side of her to help her down the six stairs from her house to her mobility scooter. When she returned home, she left the scooter at the bottom of the stairs, sat down, and used her arms to propel herself up those six steps. This limited her activity and forced her to stay home, except for doctor visits.
Pamela needed a wheelchair ramp. Since RSVP Handyman Project volunteers constructed one for her, she can ride her scooter into and out of her home whenever she wants-independently, and without pain. She plans to enjoy life again by volunteering in our community, and can once again, as she says, "participate in my own life".
