Older Adults RSVP to Volunteer

People often associate retirement with relaxing and traveling, but for about 950 San Mateo and Santa Clara county residents, retirement is also about volunteering.

The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of San Mateo and Northern Santa Clara counties, sponsored by Burlingame’s Mills-Peninsula Health Services, gathers older adults looking to make a difference.

Older community members have a wealth of life experiences and skills, and RSVP capitalizes on these attributes by helping place those 55 years and older in volunteer positions where they can pull from past skill sets or learn something new.

RSVP is a recruitment and referral agency that takes interested adults and provides them with information on various volunteer organizations that fit their wants and needs.

“Maybe they don’t know what they want to do; maybe they don’t know what's out there,” said Deborah Owdom, RSVP of San Mateo and Northern Santa Clara counties program director. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn something new or use their acquired skills in a different area.”

RSVP of San Mateo and Northern Santa Clara counties has been around for 40 years and currently offers 500 volunteer job descriptions at about 130 non-profit and government agencies including museums, hospitals, senior centers, libraries, schools and organizations like Second Harvest Food Bank.

When someone becomes interested in joining RSVP, Owdom said they discuss the potential volunteer's experiences and interests and then look through the database.

“We talk to them [about] what they can do, what they want to learn to do, what they’re comfortable with,” she said. “Some people are passionate about a cause so it’s kind of easy to narrow the search down.”

She said they typically send a volunteer home with six to eight job descriptions and let the volunteer agency know someone might come calling.

In addition to working with volunteers, RSVP works with volunteer and government agencies making sure they provide complete job descriptions and understand any further screening or training is the agency’s responsibility.

When the two sides work together, “there’s a happy volunteer out there doing wonderful things,” Owdom said.

The federally funded program represents one prong of the national organization Senior Corps, a program that get older citizens involved in the community. Other programs include the Foster Grandparent Program and Senior Companion Program. In San Mateo County, these programs are similarly sponsored by Mills-Peninsula Health Services.

As a local sponsor, Mills-Peninsula matches the grant money received from the federal government and provides supplemental insurance for members while they volunteer. RSVP falls under the senior focus department of the hospital, with the mission of keeping older adults independent.

As far as the types of volunteers go, Owdom said there is a wide range.

“I have the little old lady who goes to the senior center and sits quietly and helps serve the meals…or I have a volunteer that works with the homeless cat network and goes out to rural areas in our county to feed feral cat colonies,” she said.  “There’s something for everyone.”

For residents who want to get involved, all they have to do is give RSVP a call at 650-696-7661. After four decades, the program still grows largely by word of mouth, Owdom said, adding, “We’re a best kept secret.”