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Monday, March 18
The Indiana Daily Student

Seniors volunteer in a new way

Donna Brinton, Jeane Novotny and Carol Wise sort cards at the new RSVP +55 Volunteer Center Tuesday.

It can be difficult to commit to a regular volunteering job. That’s why the RSVP 55+ Volunteer Program has recently opened a drop-in volunteer center.

Community members aged 55 and older can come by the center, located at 1010 S. Walnut St., anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Tuesday but the third Tuesday of the month to work on various tasks for local nonprofits.

“We’ve had a great response from nonprofits and a great response from volunteers,” Rebecca Nunley, the director of the program, said of the center, which started operating in early June. “We just thought this would reach out to a new group of volunteers who aren’t able to commit to something every single week but are still wanting and able to make a difference in the ?community.”

The volunteers take part in easy-to-do activities like sorting greeting cards for Opportunity House, decorating lunch bags for homebound seniors and cutting out fabric for stuffed teddy bears to be made for children who have just come out of surgery.

“Nonprofits are so stretched for staff, so some of these little mundane projects that are so simple but take time are so hard to get done,” Nunley said. “Us taking care of those allows them to achieve their mission and lets their staff move on to meet higher needs.”

Nunley said she feels the idea of a drop-in volunteer center could also be applied to college-aged youth, with their busy and constantly changing schedules.

She said she would be happy to work with any student group interested in starting a similar sort of program.

“Giving back is important at any age,” Nunley said. “Once people retire, you don’t want to take all that wisdom they’ve built up over years of experience and let that retire with them.”

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