Ester Moore, who has been volunteering with the city for more than 30 years, is a retired nurse. She checks blood pressure at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center.
Kate Arredondo teaches English to students from Ecuador. Sisters Lorenza Gilmore and Paulette King distribute food at local churches. Ester Moore checks blood pressure at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center. Couple Richard and Helda Graham are Court Appointed Special Advocates for children. They are all retired and part of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program in Corpus Christi.
A national program, RSVP coordinates more than 500,000 volunteers in communities across America. In Corpus Christi last year, 393 active senior volunteers served 43,596 hours, saving the community more than $1 million, said program director Ericka Maldonado.
“When we calculate how many hours volunteers put back into the community and how much it saves these businesses and organizations, it’s outrageous,” Maldonado said. “These are retired volunteers. They’ve lived in Corpus Christi, they’ve worked here and are still giving back to the community.”
Along with Americorp, a volunteer program for young people, RSVP is part of the Corps for National and Community Service. The program was established under President Bill Clinton in 1993 and is the nation’s largest grant maker for service and volunteering.
“RSVP is about leading with experience, and these volunteers sure are experienced,” Maldonado said. “They are hard workers.”
RSVP volunteers are ages 55 and older. Corpus Christi offers 37 different “volunteer stations” from which to choose. Currently, RSVP is looking for people to read to kids as they head back to the school at the end of this month.
Also always available is work at the USS Lexington, Mission of Mercy, the VA Clinic, the Corpus Christi Food Bank, all of the local senior centers and more. While the average time spent is 10 hours a week, volunteers can give anywhere from an hour to whatever they want.
The process begins with an application, which can be filed on site at 1609 N. Chaparral. After finding out what volunteers are interested in doing, each is matched with a job. After a brief orientation, volunteers are put to work. Some have been volunteering since the program began, some before.
“A lot of people want to do what they did when they were working,” Maldonado said. “Others are interested in learning new skills. This is a great way to do that as well.”
While the work doesn’t pay in dollars, there are some tangible benefits. Several events honoring volunteers are held each year, including a picnic, breakfast with the mayor, a recognition dinner and a dance and holiday party.
Best of all is the social interaction and the sense of fulfillment.
“Our volunteers learn new skills and socialize and interact with people,” Maldonado said. “That kind of activity helps you live a longer, healthier life.”
Anyone interested in learning about volunteering with RSVP should contact Maldanado at (361) 826-3148 or ericka@cctexas.com.
