Timeless May 2020 | Page 30

“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