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Highlands Today

Seniors RSVP With Help

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

Kris Schmidt, coordinator of RSVP, speaks to Linda DePender about the volunteer program during a health fair at Reflections on Silver Lake in Avon Park.

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By PALLAVI AGARWAL

Highlands Today

Published: February 9, 2009

SEBRING - Glenn Fowler is a salt-and-pepper-haired 60-year-old who spends more time volunteering at the American Red Cross each week than most people do at their full-time jobs.

If there were a time sheet for him to punch, Fowler would be wracking up from 50 to 80 hours a week, sometimes at odd hours in the night when he is helping families struck by house fires, or while teaching the many health, safety and disaster preparedness classes the Highlands County Red Cross offers the community.

Some retired folks may want to sit back and take it easy. Not Fowler. It's not his idea of aging gracefully.

For the ordained Methodist minister, volunteering is not just a way to help others, it's also a chance to stay active, be connected and learn something new.

"People who become sedentary, they are going to lose their motivation and will to go on," he said. "Why put them (retired folks) to a shelf?"

Fowler is one of more than 500 active volunteers who make a difference every day, in big and small ways, throughout several Highlands County groups like the Red Cross.

They are all senior citizens, 55 and older, and belong to a group that is better known by its acronym, RSVP, or the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. The average age of RSVP volunteers is 73.

Kris Schmidt is their coordinator. In her office at South Florida Community College she totaled the hours local RSVP volunteers put in from July to December last year.

Many will be surprised to know that for the six-month period, 413 volunteers put in 32,000 hours, helping in some form. There are about 600 seniors enrolled in the program and 520 of them have volunteered at least two hours a week.

RSVP volunteers help out in 48 different areas countywide.

Some like Fowler help at the Red Cross. Others do filing work, data entry, front desk duties, or mentor and tutor students in other places.

Still others help out at area hospitals and hospices or do sewing projects.

At a rate of $19 an hour, Schmidt's calculations show that county RSVP volunteers contributed almost $1 million of free labor last year, she said.

"RSVP is its volunteers," Schmidt said. "I can't put a price tag on it."

Something For Everyone

Schmidt tries to match volunteers with what they want to do or think will work for them.

Sometimes it takes a couple of tries before volunteers find what they are looking for.

Schmidt gave the example of a woman who came to her. The volunteer tried at first to help out at the front desk of an assisted living facility and a local chamber of commerce.

She needed something else, and found it as a tutor. Now she teaches conversational English to students who are learning English as a second language.

Bobbi Brown didn't have this problem.

A grandmother of a 6-year-old autistic grandson in Vermont, Brown wanted to use her expertise to help out other kids like him.

"I learned a lot of different techniques and wanted to share it with other special needs children," she said.

After helping students at two schools, Brown now tutors and mentors a fifth-grade class at Woodlawn Elementary School once a week.

Last week, a group of students needed help writing a short essay on bullying. Brown took them outside to a picnic table, helped them brainstorm ideas and paired them each up so that they could check each other's spellings.

Somewhere along the way, she also teaches her students simple etiquette. They now open the door for her when she leaves and always thank her for coming.

On other days, Brown helps out at a local hospice. She is involved with an annual bereavement camp for kids who have lost a loved one. She also spends time with hospice patients, some who have been with her for more than two years.

"I love involvement with people," she said. "You always almost learn something. Your world grows bigger. You come across different cultures, different ways."

Volunteers Always Needed

Fowler is a unique RSVP volunteer in more than one way. He is one of the few male volunteers.

"Eight-two percent of our volunteers are female," Schmidt said. "I would love to see more men involved."

All RSVP volunteers receive free supplemental accident and liability insurance while on the job. They are also get recognized at an annual RSVP luncheon.

For many years, the program was administered by NU-HOPE Elder Care Services Inc. About two years ago, South Florida Community College decided to sponsor the program.

In the coming months, Schmidt hopes to unveil new programs or expand some of the existing ones.

RSVP is hoping to help keep roads clean through the "Adopt A Road" program. They are also going to have another Carfit session, this time in Lake Placid, where trained volunteers check to see if a car meets minimum safety requirements as far as seat belts, side mirrors and other aspects go.

Schmidt also wants to see more volunteer at area schools.

"To walk in and see a volunteer work with a student, it's so rewarding," she said.

To contact RSVP, call coordinator Kris Schmidt at 784-7189.

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