RSVP WORKERS HONORED

More than 500 volunteers from Scott and Cape Girardeau counties were honored with a reception for their work Tuesday.

Members of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program were honored for their faithful commitment to helping others at the event, which took place at 2 p.m. in the Drury Lodge Mississippi room.

"It's like planting a seed in the winter and watching it grow," said Barbara McKeon, who saluted the volunteers for their work. "We don't stop planting just because it's getting colder; we just plan for a different harvest. We thank you for not going into hibernation and for planting your seeds with us."

The volunteers donated over 80,000 hours to 102 not-for-profit agencies and organizations in the area last year. Tina McDowell, assistant administrator for RSVP, said the effort was possible because of the skills and dedication of the volunteers.

"We recruit people 55 years of age or older," she said. "We find out what talents and skills they have, and we match those skills with an agency."

McDowell said the organization, which began serving Scott County in 1973, has grown over the years from fewer than 20 volunteers to the present 514. Most of the volunteers come because they know others in the program, she said, or through agency referrals or public notice.

The program began serving Cape Girardeau County in 1992, and it has been successful mainly due to support from the Cape Girardeau County Senior Tax Board, she said.

Volunteers said they enjoy the services they provide and the people who receive their services.

"I quit working and decided this is what I wanted to do," said Delores Simmons. Simmons, who works mainly with the Veterans Home, said her work was rewarding because the veterans appreciated her help. Mary Quade, who works with Simmons, said she gained appreciation for herself through her work.

"When you see the shape some of them are in, you really appreciate being in whatever shape you are in," she said.

La Rue Brown volunteers as a water-exercise instructor for arthritis sufferers. She said she started participating in RSVP because she felt she had a skill to add to the program.

"I was taking classes and decided I could teach it," she said. "I qualified to teach through the Arthritis Foundation, then I volunteered at RSVP. I enjoy it, and everybody that goes enjoys it."

To get RSVP volunteers, an agency must be not for profit and provide a community service. Volunteers log all hours they donate and they provide services as diverse as reading aloud to students to dancing with veterans.

"I used to dance with the veterans every year before my back went out this year," said Quade. "I even made the ones in the wheelchairs dance. They would say, 'I can't dance', and I'd tell them to come out on the dance floor with me and I'd show them they could dance."

Volunteers said they believe RSVP is important because it keeps senior citizens active and makes them feel needed. Many of them said they will continue to work with the organization until their health keeps them from doing it any longer.

"I enjoy it, and I don't plan to stop soon," Brown said.