NEENAH, Wis. — Now in her 16th year as a volunteer for RSVP, which stands for Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, Lois Dennik likes to keep busy.
“It’s just self-satisfaction helping somebody. You’re retired. What are you going to do? It’s just really a nice opportunity,” said Dennik.
Over 240 RSVP volunteers serve 50 nonprofits in the Fox Valley area. Dennik said she enjoys helping at hospitals and serving free meals but will also stuff envelopes, because, she said, it needs to be done. RSVP allows her to pick and choose how she spends her time helping the community.
“They send out email requests and then you can volunteer for whatever you’d like to do,” said Dennik.
She enjoys it so much that she’s now an ambassador for the program and helps to onboard new volunteers.
“It’s just wonderful for meeting new people. I live alone and I have to make an effort to get out and this is such a nice way of doing it,” said Dennik.
Program Director Beth Montour said the RSVP volunteers teach her something new every day.
“We pair them with their skills and talent that they have. They have so much life experience. They are the best volunteers ever. We are so happy to have them,” said Montour. “We are like a one-stop shop for volunteer opportunities.”
Susan Vanden Heuvel said her organization, Volunteer Fox Cities, has sponsored the program since 1998.
“We were one of the first three in the nation to be selected to work on this particular program that caters to adults that are 55 and better, as we like to say. We keep them engaged in the community by helping out not only us but other nonprofits,” said Vanden Heuvel.
Last year RSVP volunteers logged almost 43,000 hours.
“People can find something that they enjoy. It should be fun. It’s not work,” said Dennik.
RSVP estimates last year's volunteer impact for the local communities was at $1.28 million, but said it’s harder to put a value on the impact the program has on Dennik and her fellow volunteers.