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  E-Xtra    
   What's New & Noteworthy from RSVP
     November 2017
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RSVP's mission is to make a positive impact in the community by recruiting volunteers 55 and older to help deliver priority services to people of all ages, providing Dane County with a valuable resource.
Happenings

  Giving Tuesday: Focuses on
  the Spirit of Giving
 
 
     
       Giving Tuesday is a global philanthropic effort  celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, that focuses on helping others through donations of time and/or money.  It is the perfect opportunity to give.

     This year, RSVP has a very generous supporter who will match your donation, dollar for dollar, up to a total of $5,000 -- so your $100 becomes a $200 gift. To donate, please go to  www.rsvpdane.org and click on the 'Donate' button or send a check made out to 'RSVP of Dane County, Inc.,'  dated November 28, 2017, with 'Giving Tuesday' in the memo line.

     Please help spread the word about this great fundraising opportunity! L eading up to Giving Tuesday, our Facebook page will feature stories of our volunteers. When you 'Like' and 'Share' our Facebook page, others will learn about the wonderful work RSVP volunteers give to our community.

     Gifts support our programs and volunteers who provide rides to medical appointments for seniors and veterans, tutor students in schools, make quilts and knitted items, support food pantries and other community needs.  The more you share this message, the more successful our fundraiser will be!

 
   
   Share  the Holiday  Spirit 2017!
  
 
 
      Holiday gift wrapping at Hilldale Shopping Center is back and t he new management is excited to have us return now that construction is finished! 

     This is a great opportunity for RSVP's popular holiday fund-raiser and fun-raiser! Our
wrapping booth will be back in front of Macy's in the enclosed atrium (in the old Ulla Eyewear
storefront) across from Santa!

     Hilldale gives RSVP a contribution for each day volunteers wrap gifts and also allows us to keep shoppers'  tips. 

     We need your help! Please consider working a 2-hour shift wrapping gifts on one or more of the 16 scheduled days: 
  • December 1-3 
  • December 8-10
  • December 15-24
     Call Jan at 441-7891 for a schedule of available shifts and make this activity part of your  holiday tradition, while helping raise funds for RSVP!

 
     Triad Crime Prevention & 
     Safety Conference & Expo
 

Dick and Myra Josephson, Jack Guzman and Mary Schmelzer welcoming Triad participants.
     'Taking Positive Steps in Uncertain Times - Learning to Stay Safe' was the theme of the  15th Annual Dane County/State Triad Crime Prevention and Safety Conference & Expo on September 22, 2017
 
     A large gathering of people came together from cities throughout Wisconsin to learn more about issues in our communities related to crime prevention and safety, especially for our older citizens.

     The American Family Insurance Training Center in Madison hosted this event put on by RSVP and the Crime Prevention and Safety Planning Committee made up of the Dane County Sheriff's Community Deputies, Madison Police Department, Madison Fire Department, SAIL ,GWAAR, CWAG, Dane County Human Services-Adult Protective Services, Wisconsin Association of Senior Centers, West Madison Coalition of the Aging, Brown County Triad, Cottage Grove Triad, Colonial Club of Sun Prairie, Menasha Police Department, and RSVP volunteers.
 
     One of the highlights of the conference was a welcome by Mickey Beil, our Dane County Legislative Lobbyist, who stepped in at the last minute because the house of planned speaker from the National Triad Association was damaged by the  hurricane in Naples, Florida.
 
     All of the break-out sessions were well attended with the largest numbers attending Elder Abuse, Outsmarting the Scam Artist, Emerging Drug Trends, Identity Theft, and Elder Depression and Suicide;
The Attorney General Brad Schimel spoke about the new State Elder Abuse Task force that is being formed.

     The Plenary Session was on Aging in Place, covering topics such as physical abuse and neglect, financial misappropriation in Medicaid-funded facilities, elder victim services and financial exploitation.   There were 18 exhibitors with important information on services. 

      Triad Conference Sponsors: Wisconsin Police Leadership Foundation, Dane County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Ho Chunk, Thrivent,  and Old National Bank.
     Funding for Triad comes from the Corporation for National Service and Area Agency of Dane County/Dane County Human Services.
 
    Plans are already in motion for next year's conference -- for more information contact Mary Stamstad, mstamstad@rsvpdane.org 


 Thanks to our major Sponsors
MG&E and Ho-Chunk Nation



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Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of Dane County

517 N. Segoe Rd., Ste. 300,
Madison WI 53705
608-238-7787


Important Dates

RSVP Office Closed:
Thursday, Nov. 23
Friday, Nov. 24
Thanksgiving holiday

Friday, Dec. 22
Staff gift wraps at Hilldale

Monday, Dec. 25
Tuesday, Dec. 26
Christmas holiday

Friday, Dec. 29
Monday, Jan. 1
New Year holiday    
Bus Buddy Events
One-on-one 
training 
available  by appointment,
contact Diana Jost, 441-1393
or djost@rsvpdane.org

 
  Triad Events
  
West Madison:
Prescription Medication: Prevention & Signs of Abuse 
Mon., December 11, 10:00 a.m.
Speaker, Cathy Kalina, 
Family Services, PICADA
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

For more information, contact
Mary Stamstad at
608-441-7897 or
mstamstad@rsvpdane.org



Visit RSVP at Walgreens
Senior Discount Days
RSVP distributes File of Life packets & other info at Walgreens each month. Stop by to  enjoy the senior discount!
 
Tuesday, Dec. 5
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at
South Park St. & Verona Walgreens


Volunteer Now!
Current Opportunities

DRIVERS SERVICES

DRIVERS NEEDED  to drive passengers who are seniors (60 yrs. and older) or veterans of all ages to important appointments, or to deliver meals to seniors in Dane County communities outside of Madison. You set your own schedule, no minimum hours required. RSVP provides mileage reimbursement and extra liability insurance.  

If you are interested in driving:  
Seniors or Delivering Meals
  Mary Schmelzer,  441-7896
or mschmelzer@rsvpdane.org

V eterans of all ages
& their families,
  Joe Miller,  238-7901 or jmiller@rsvpdane.org 


COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS:
  Jan  Karst  
441-7891 or jkarst@rsvpdane.org

DOMESTIC ABUSE INTERVENTION SERVICES (DAIS)  needs volunteer reception desk help for a few hours a week in the mornings to answer the phone and greet visitors.  They also need volunteers to help with general maintenance of the building.
   
CATHOLIC MULTICULTURAL CEN TER
on Beld St. serves a meal to about 85 people a day. They need help to prepare the daily meal! The coordinator plans and oversees it all, volunteers provide helping hands to put it together!
 
  MADISON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM has opportunities to assist educational programming staff or to act as community-service ambassadors --working on special projects 'behind the scenes' like data entry, photography, and marketing, as well as with events. 
 
PORCHLIGHT PRODUCTS is a job training program for individuals with disabilities who have previously experienced homelessness.  They produce high quality jams, pickles and baking mixes and need volunteers to conduct product samplings at grocery stores.  Spend a few hours offering jam on crackers to shoppers to help sell the products!
 
ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL needs volunteers to deliver mail and flowers, bring the morning beverage cart to visitors in waiting areas and print out and deliver e-cards to patients. Simple computer skills and the ability to walk distances are needed.
 
UNITY POINT HEALTH - MERITER HOSPITAL needs volunteers to assist in the gift shop, sewing small tote bags, delivering floral arrangements or being part of the lobby concierge team.
 
COMMUNITY ACTION COALITION GLEANERS is looking for volunteers to do a weekly route of picking up excess food at one location (stores, etc) and delivering it to another (food pantries and nutrition sites). 
 
ST. VINCENT'S CHARITY PHARMACY offers free prescription medication to folks who are uninsured and meet income eligibility.  Volunteers are needed to help greet customers at the window, check them in and work with the pharmacists to dispense the medications.
 
HENRY VILAS ZOO would like volunteers to help drive the Zoo Train, operate the Carousel, greet visitors at the Zoo kiosks, and supervise the goat feeding area.  Sounds like fun!
 
FOOD FOR THOUGHT INITIATIVE
works to reduce food insecurity and improve school performance in Madison area school children.  They strive to open one new school food pantry a year.  The goal is to have school/community take on financing and maintenance of the pantry.  You can be a Madison In-School Pantry Coordinator!


INTERGENERATIONAL:
Diana Jost
441-1393 or  djost@rsvpdane.org

VOLUNTEER TUTORS NEEDED  in a ll Dane County schools, particularly in Madison, for students in grades K-12.  Volunteers are matched one-to-one or with a small group.  Academic tutoring is focused on literacy and math.  Schools also need help in the library, art classes, music classes, and as general classroom assistants.  
 
GUEST SPEAKERS IN AREA SCHOOLS:  
Volunteers share their personal stories with students that are related to events in history or that share their expertise on a variety of topics. 

*   DeForest Bio Link Project  
volunteers share with DeForest Area Middle School students, events in their lives when they had to overcome difficult obstacles.  The focus is to teach students about resilience, facing challenges, and perseverance.  Students interview volunteers, complete a project on what they've learned, and present those projects to  volunteers at a lunch later in the year. 

Madison Memorial High School Oral History Project  volunteers participate in small-group interviews focused on what their lives were like during the Great Depression and WWII. Students then compile a written documentation of the oral history.
 
BUILDING BRIDGES  is seeking volunteers to help support students in 4K through 8th grade. The primary objective is to help decrease mental health crisis events of students in the school setting by providing needed support to ensure student's behavioral stability and readiness for learning. Volunteers help students with reading, math, or as a general mentor.  Immediate needs are:
 
*   Sun Prairie School District: Creekside Elementary, 2nd grade tutor for reading, 8:50-9:50 a.m. on any day of the week.
 
*   DeForest School District: Yahara Elementary, 4th grade tutor for math on Tuesdays, 1:45-2:15.

 
FOSTER GRANDPARENT:
Daniela Sponseller
661-4271 or
dsponseller@rsvpdane.org

FOSTER GRANDPARENT PROGRAM offers adults, age 55 and older, the opportunity to share their time, life experience and love with children as a mentor and a role model in Madison elementary schools or Reach Dane Head Starts.  Foster Grandparents are caring individuals who devote 15 to 40 hours a week helping children become motivated learners and succeed in life, and, if income-eligible, are paid a tax-exempt stipend and travel costs.  No formal experience is necessary, just a desire to help children thrive.

GROUP PROJECTS
Kate Seal
310-7280 or kseal@rsvpdane.org

Do you enjoy knitting, crocheting or quilting AND want to make a difference in our community? Join RSVP volunteers  making items for warmth and comfort for non-profit organizations around Dane County! Work from home OR in one of the groups located across the county. Supplies are provided.