“Our volunteers are from every walk of life; from
the homemaker whose kids are grown, as well as
retired schoolteachers and nurses; we even have
some husband and wife teams that serve. We have
volunteers that serve four hours a month, four hours
a week and some who treat this like a job – serving
upwards of 30 hours a week,” he said.
According to Putnam, the number of volunteers as
well as the stations served can fluctuate monthly or
even annually.
“Some like Anderson Regional Health System and
Meals on Wheels, who are two of our largest stations
with about 30 volunteers, may have volunteers who
serve every week, while others may only need the
volunteers one time for the entire year.”
For Jenny Hertel, patient advocate and volunteer
coordinator at ARHS, the volunteers are the face of
the organization and invaluable to the health system’s
patient satisfaction and outreach.
“I love getting to know the RSVP volunteers and
“A lot of folks may not be aware
RSVP exists, but our local pro-
gram is thriving. We have any-
where from 155-165 members
who, in 2019, donated 14,000
hours at approximately 42 sites
or stations.”
Tim Putnam, local RSVP director
learning their different stories. My group here all have
servant hearts. They volunteer for the right reasons
and represent our values of respect, trust, dignity and
responsiveness,” she said. “Their willingness to serve
by manning our information desks, delivering flowers
to patient rooms, helping the different departments
with needs, and comforting patient families in the
ICU waiting room and other areas of the hospital is
truly remarkable and very inspiring.”
RSVP member Ruby Brown began volunteering
with the program around 20 years ago.
“Although I did have some opportunities to vol-
unteer through my job and church in Georgia, once I
moved to Meridian and had more time, I told a friend
of mine at church I was interested in volunteering and
she invited me to RSVP,” she recalled.
Now 74 and limited by health issues, Brown says
she enjoys helping stuff envelopes for mailouts for
the United Way and being a greeter for events held
throughout the year at the Mississippi Industrial
Heritage Museum Soule’ Steam Feed Works as well as
to visitors at the Welcome Center.
“I love people and the joy I get talking to them and
30•
hearing their
stories,” she
said. “RSVP is
such a worth-
while organi-
zation and I’ve
made some
lasting friend-
ships over the
years. Although
I typically only
volunteer about
six hours a
month now,
give or take, I
love doing it
and I plan to
continue to vol-
unteer as long
as I can.”
Putnam,
Tim Putnam
who became
RSVP director
around four years ago, said it was an “eye opening
experience” transitioning from retail to the volunteer
sector.
“I never thought anybody would volunteer to
work, say as a guide at MCC’s Art Gallery for 30
hours a week, without getting paid – it blew my
mind,” he said. “Yet we also typically have 8-10 folks
that work for several hours at Earth’s Bounty every
month they are in operation, and many that help out
at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience
(MAEX) and the MSU Riley Center in addition to
many other stations around the county.”
Keeping up with the volunteers and the agencies
that need them is Joyce Franklin’s job. As volunteer
coordinator for RSVP she works with the participat-
ing agencies to determine what their needs are and
keeps a daily calendar of where volunteers need to be.
She gets to know the volunteers and becomes familiar
with not only what they are physically able to do, like
Brown, but what they enjoy doing – and then assigns
them accordingly.
In addition to helping agencies meet vital needs
and allow partnering agencies to expand their service
capacity, RSVP is an AARP Tax Station and volun-
teers help with a free income tax preparation program
on Tuesdays and Saturdays during tax season. AARP
and RSVP also partner to offer driving classes four to
six times a year to help seniors keep their insurance
costs down.
RSVP volunteers do not receive any monetary
incentive or stipend, but they do receive mileage
reimbursement, accident and personal liability and
excess automobile insurance, as well as community
recognition.
Interested in becoming a volunteer? Call the RSVP
office at 601.693.2732 or stop by 4817 North Park
Drive, Suite B (the former Social Security Office) and
fill out an application.
TIMELESS MERIDIAN