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RSVP News & Opportunities
- October & November 2024 -
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A note from Karen
You may have seen the email I sent out last week indicating that I had accepted a position with Volunteer Fairfax as their Corporate Volunteer Services Manager and will be stepping down as the Volunteer Specialist for RSVP. I have loved working with all of you, the steadfast volunteers who make our program what it is, and I will miss you!
Starting on Monday, October 14, communications will come directly from Stacey Iden, siden@volunteerfairfax.org. Please reach out to her with any needs or questions you have.
Thank you for your generosity and your willingness to give back. It’s been such a privilege to get to know you and get a glimpse of the ways that you serve your communities.
I wish you all the very best as you continue your service!
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Volunteers Spotlight:
What’s the Recent Buzz
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During the months of August and September, RSVP volunteers kept themselves busy, not just working at our partner stations but joining us at the office in Fairfax for Welcome Wednesday projects and going out to cleanups.
In August they made cookie sheet alphabet boards for young children to use to learn letters and begin early reading. It was a challenging and fun project. During our September Welcome Wednesday volunteers packed 500 emergency preparedness starter kits for the Department of Emergency Management and Security. Also in September, an RSVP group joined the Fairfax County Park Authority National Public Lands Day celebration at Franconia Recreational Center. The day was focused on seasonal cleanup of the Spray Park Area, through pruning, mulching, and bridges cleanup.
Another group is engaged with the Photovoice Project, an initiative of AmeriCorps Seniors in partnership with Virginia Tech and the VCU Center on Society and Health. Photovoice is a storytelling project using photography that puts cameras in the hands of AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers to encourage them to share their stories of service. Stay tuned to see what an amazing job they did.
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Presidential Recognition Honoring Volunteers
RSVP-Northern Virginia (through Volunteer Fairfax) has just been designated a Certifying Organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Awards (PVSA), a program of Points of Light and AmeriCorps. We joined this program as another way of engaging and honoring our wonderful volunteers.
PVSA was started in 2003 to recognize "individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too.” Certifying Organizations record volunteer hours and submit them to PVSA to obtain certificates and other memorabilia for annual and lifetime hours of service. The certificates – whoop whoop! - are “signed” by the sitting president.
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RSVP Merch Available
If you love RSVP Northern Virginia and are proud to show everyone you are part of this amazing and selective group, here is a new way to show it. RSVP now has a merchandise store along with Volunteer Fairfax where you can purchase different apparel or accessories. To access and see what’s available visit the store here. Is there something you’d like to see in the store but didn’t find? Let us know and we will evaluate the possibilities of adding different products.
Got something and want to share with us? Send a picture to us at pmedeiros@volunteerfairfax.org - we’d love to see what your favorite product is!
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RSVP Website UPDATES
RSVP volunteers and partner volunteer stations have access to important resources on our website. Visit RSVP in the News | Volunteer Fairfax to find the volunteer handbook as well as the electronic timesheet.
Just recently, our volunteer station partners were invited to participate in several Mission Meetups to explore with the RSVP staff the intricacies of the program and how our volunteers are supporting the goals of the grant through their volunteer work. During these sessions, the newly updated Volunteer Station Handbook was rolled out to the partners and now lives on the website. We also added a link to a group service project form where partners can submit a proposal for projects for our monthly Welcome Wednesday events and group service projects out in the community.
All resources on the website are there for easy access, so please be sure to visit the site frequently as you have needs or questions. You can also use the resources when talking with family, friends, and volunteer stations about the program to promote understanding and interest.
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VolunteerFest 2024
Volunteer Fairfax is excited to bring volunteers, local nonprofits/agencies, corporate partners, and human service providers together at one location for VolunteerFest 2024 –The PARC at Tysons.
New this year, we will have a Community Fair where the community will have a chance to learn about a wide range of service activities that they can take part in aimed at addressing various community needs such as emergency preparedness, hunger relief, environmental conservation, animal welfare, and much more.
Swing by The PARC at Tysons between 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. for a day that promises not just to inspire but to ignite your passion for service.
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Venture into
Volunteering Fair
Help support RSVP and partner volunteer stations, by visiting our table at the Venture into Volunteering Fair! Spread the word to those you know who may be thinking about volunteering and looking to add new and enriching activities to their life. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to meet representatives from various nonprofits and local government agencies. The fair will be held on Sunday, November 3, 2024, 12-4 p.m. at the Springfield Town Center. Go to bit.ly/VOLFAIR for more details.
This fair will take place in conjunction with the annual Beacon 50+ Expo. Dozens of exhibitors – including government agencies, nonprofits, and local businesses will provide helpful information regarding retirement communities, home remodeling, financial planning, healthcare, travel, fitness, and more. Health screenings, flu shots and other vaccines will be offered.
It's free to attend both events, and there will be giveaways and door prizes!
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Volunteer Fairfax has a virtual book club. It’s part of our free online Volunteer Management Training Program, and readers discuss subjects of importance to those of us in the human services fields, and who work with, supervise, or are volunteers. In November, we’ll be talking about Wonder Drug, by Stephen Trzeciak, M.D. and Anthony Mazzarelli M.D. of Cooper University Health Care. To quote the back of the book, the authors “illuminate, through neuroscience and captivating stories … how being a giving, other-focused person is a secret superpower. … Kinder people not only live longer, they also live better.”
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AmeriCorps: A Movement, not a Moment | |
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From September 2023 to September 2024, AmeriCorps celebrated its 30th anniversary. Through the yearlong celebration, AmeriCorps demonstrated how national service has been and continues to be a movement that brings out the best of America.
In early September, Program Manager Stacey Iden visited the White House as AmeriCorps concluded its 30th anniversary commemoration. At this gathering of a small group of national service stakeholders, participants celebrated three decades of extraordinary impact and looked ahead to what it will take for this powerful movement to be stronger in the decades to come.
Part one of the meeting focused on where AmeriCorps has had the most progress over the past years and how best to position itself for even greater success in the next 30 years. During part two, participants were able to ideate and imagine, which generated energy and excitement.
Participants were invited to move away from the current day to a more distant future removed from political realities, legacy structures and limitations, and other headwinds. The objective was to provoke and prompt thinking that was big and out of the box. Groups were assigned a leadership role in a sector, agency, or branch of government. But there was a twist in that groups were given absolute authority that comes with blank checks and full-staff buy-in to implement their top ideas. We can only imagine what creative ideas were generated!
Learn more about how the movement continues. AmeriCorps 30: The AmeriCorps Movement Continues | AmeriCorps.
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RSVP Team Member Tina Luebke:
A Few Fun Facts!
Favorite season? When I am outside, my favorite season is spring because I love to see the earth’s reawakening. When I am inside, my favorite season is autumn, as I start to snuggle up in our lovely home.
Coffee or tea? Absolutely tea, with three spoons of sugar and a ton of frothy oat milk.
Early bird or night owl? Early to bed and early to rise!
Favorite movie? A Thousand Clowns, with Jason Robards and Barbara Harris.
Favorite food? Bread, butter, and cheese.
Favorite color? Shades of violet.
Best place you ever traveled to? My heart lives in London.
One fun fact about yourself? I got my first tattoo at 45; I have about a dozen now and I’m always contemplating my next one.
What’s one word or phrase you would use to describe volunteers? Vital.
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