The WestArk RSVP helps individuals age 55 and older put their skills and life experiences to work for their communities. RSVP volunteers serve from a few hours to forty hours a week. They do just about everything-from tutoring children and building homes for low-income families, to driving cancer patients to chemotherapy and preparing tax returns for disabled adults. However they choose to serve, RSVP volunteers meet critical community needs.

For twenty-three years WestArk RSVP has matched problems to be solved with people willing to help. Hundreds of local seniors and over 450,000 seniors nationally participate in RSVP, making it one of the largest volunteer efforts in the nation.

Some people feel a lack of productivity when they no longer have a regular work site or schedule. RSVP helps seniors stay active and involved. Volunteers join a large service network, learning new skills or using the know-how they've developed over a lifetime.

Many WestArk RSVP volunteers have lived in their communities for a long time. Because the community has given them so much, they see serving as a way to give something back. WestArk RSVP volunteers discover that when they give, they gain a lot too. Studies show that seniors who volunteer live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives.

WestArk RSVP volunteers choose how and where they want to serve. Many continue the type of work they enjoyed earlier in life, while others try something completely different. As an RSVP volunteer you might build a wheelchair ramp, make hospital visits, teach an adult to read, organize a charity event or help people recover from cancer.

RSVP volunteers may commit to serving one or more ongoing effort. The number of hours they serve is flexible. Volunteers will receive a pre-service orientation, followed by appropriate on-the-job training from the agency or organization where they are placed. While on duty, volunteers also receive supplemental insurance.

Contact the Program Director by phone at (479) 783-4155,
e-mail at rsvp@ipa.net or come by the office at
401 North 13 th Street, Fort Smith.