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Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme

Retire into Action
 

International

Europe

RSVP is a member of ENOVO - the European Network of Older Volunteering Organisations - the only Europe-wide organisation helping to promote opportunities for the older volunteer.

ENOVO acts as an umbrella body for all organisations involved in older volunteering who wish to discuss their objectives in an international forum.

It aims to develop new opportunities for older volunteers, communicate good practice, open up new funding possibilities and develop tools to measure the impact of older volunteering effort.

While still at an early stage, it has members from several different countries and expects to increase its membership in the immediate future. It plans to hold meetings later in 2007 when all interested parties will be invited to participate.

For further details, visit the ENOVO website.

USA

RSVP has close links with the Senior Corps and with RSVP USA, one of its three core programmes. Each year in the USA more than 440,000 volunteers age 55 and older, provide community service through 770 local RSVP "projects". RSVP volunteers choose how and where they want to serve, and they determine how many hours a week they serve. In addition, RSVP provides appropriate insurance coverage for volunteers while on assignment.

The amount of service can vary from a few hours a month to almost full-time, with the average being approximately three hours a week per volunteer. RSVP volunteers mentor children and youth, organize neighbourhood watch programmes, renovate homes, provide independent living services to frail seniors, programme computers, and help people recover from natural disasters - whatever their skills and interests lead them to do.

For more information, visit the Senior Corps website.

Elsewhere

RSVP also has links to RSVP International, based at the University of Maryland, just outside Washington DC. RSVPI, founded in 1984 by businessman Arthur Garson, has a mission to develop, support and enhance volunteer programmes for older volunteers through a network of global partnerships. Currently it has programmes in over 30 countries spanning 6 continents.

For more details, visit the RSVP International website.