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The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), a division of SUNY Oswego's Office of Business and Community Relations, will celebrate 40 years in Oswego County with a recognition luncheon Thursday, Sept. 5.
The event, titled "Volunteers are the Heart and Soul of the Community," will take place at SUNY Oswego's Hewitt Union. Guests of honor at the annual luncheon will include more than 400 area volunteers, including 19 recognized with the President's Lifetime Achievement Award for serving more than 4,000 hours. The group will join 33 others who have already reached this milestone.
The college brought RSVP to the county in 1973 to encourage and foster the development and maintenance of volunteer opportunities that engage, support and enhance the lives of Americans 55 and older, while responding to the priority needs of the county.
RSVP provides a wide range of volunteer opportunities: tax counselors, driving instructors, advocates engaging with nursing home residents and role models for disadvantaged youths. Volunteers deliver meals to food pantries and staff tourist centers, among many other opportunities. RSVP has broken ground to address unmet community needs by developing the Osteoporosis Bone Builders Program, Six Steps to Better Balance and countywide Walking Clubs, to name a few.
Part of a nationwide network of Senior Corps programs, RSVP is sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The 700 programs in the United States are sponsored by nonprofit agencies; Oswego County sponsors are SUNY Oswego and the United Way.
RSVP offers Mature Living, a bimonthly publication with news and information both national and local in scope, and of interest to older Americans. For more information or to receive Mature Living, call 312-2317 or email rsvp@oswego.edu.
