Northeast Iowa RSVP celebrates Senior Corps Week September 19-23

Senior Corps Week is an initiative to celebrate the extraordinary impact of Senior Corps members and to recognize and thank the community partners who make Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and RSVP possible. Senior Corps week recognizes not just the durability and effectiveness of Senior Corps’ legacy, but the unique ability that Americans 55 and over possess to use their wisdom, professional skills, and experience to solve pressing problems and strengthen communities.
Northeast Iowa RSVP which serves Allamakee, Howard and Winneshiek counties, is part of the Senior Corps group of volunteers age 55 plus who are making a difference in their own community by sharing their life skills and talents with non-profits and the people they serve.  Northeast Iowa RSVP volunteers were recently honored by Governor Terry E. Branstad for outstanding service to the State of Iowa, and were presented with the Governor’s Volunteer Group Service Award.  Northeast Iowa RSVP will be celebrating Senior Corps Week and honoring the great volunteers who are serving under the RSVP program at a Volunteer Appreciation brunch at Nob Hill on Wednesday, September 21st.
The RSVP program has been sponsored by the Decorah Public Library since 2001 and will celebrate the beginning of its ten year anniversary this fall.  The first volunteer for Northeast Iowa RSVP was Georgie Klevar who has spent over a thousand hours helping English as Second Language students learn and understand the English language.  Along with Georgie, nine other volunteers will be honored for their ten years of service at the brunch this week, they are:  Joyce Epperly, Ann Glesne, John Glesne, Pat Lepa, Mary Lou Rauk-Snitker, Lyle Rodman, Sharon Rossman, Mary Timmerman and Naomi Winter.  During the past ten years four hundred and eleven volunteers have devoted 126,665 hours of service to the community through the RSVP program.  The Independent Sector for Iowa places a value of $2,124,233.80 on the service these volunteers have provided to fill critical needs in Northeast Iowa.
The volunteer activities of RSVP are not only good for the community but volunteering has proven to have considerable health benefits for the volunteers themselves.   A report cited by the Corporation for National & Community Service entitled: The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research, found a significant connection between volunteering and good health. The report shows that volunteers have greater longevity, higher functional ability, lower rates of depression, and less incidence of heart disease. A study of adults age 65 and older found that the positive effect of volunteering on physical and mental health is due to the personal sense of accomplishment an individual gains from his or her volunteer activities.
The Corporation for National and Community Service and its Senior Corps programs encourage all Americans to serve to help solve our communities’ most pressing problems.  For more information about volunteering through Northeast Iowa RSVP and becoming a senior corps volunteer, contact Kathy Barloon or Lyle Otte at Northeast Iowa RSVP at the Decorah Public Library, 202 Winnebago Street, Decorah 563-382-3717 or toll free 877-806-0623.  
Senior Corps Week, September 19-23, celebrates the extraordinary commitment and contribution made by Senior Corps volunteers and recognizes their critical impact on addressing tough challenges across our nation. For more information about Senior Corps visit www.GetInvolved.gov.