Holiday Celebration

Well, we’re bang into what for many of us is the busiest time of the year; between Thanksgiving and the start of the New Year, 2025! A quarter of the way into the 21st century, and we all remember Y2K. How long ago that seems! 

We’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best in this season of love and joy, when giving and receiving are both meaningful and family and friends are held close whether physically or virtually.  

For this holiday season and beyond, your RSVP team, hijacking Neil Gaiman, has a wish for you. In the New Year, he says, we have “a fresh opportunity to shape our world.” “So,” he continues, “this is my wish, a wish for me as much as it is a wish for you: in the world to come, let us be brave – let us walk into the dark without fear, and step into the unknown with smiles on our faces, even if we’re faking them. And whatever happens to us, whatever we make, whatever we learn, let us take joy in it. We can find joy in the world if it’s joy we’re looking for, we can take joy in the act of creation. So that is my wish for you, and for me. Bravery and joy.” 



However you celebrate, whatever you do, may you have joy, and peace, and community.  

As we approach the end of the year, we want to acknowledge the immense contributions of our dedicated RSVP volunteers. Your commitment and enthusiasm have truly made a difference in our community. Here are some highlights of volunteers' remarkable efforts in recent months: 

In addition to ongoing support at various volunteer stations, RSVP volunteers played crucial roles in several events and initiatives. They were instrumental in the success of Volunteer Fairfax’s VolunteerFest and the Northern Virginia Dementia Caregivers Consortium’s Conference, organized by Insight Memory Care. They also assisted in loading trucks with groceries for FACETS, packed over 400 trail mix bags for The Lamb Center, prepared 100 comfort kits for the Red Cross, created six publicity sandwich boards for NV Rides, and prepared 110 DIY educational chalkboards for Belong!.



A big thank you to all our volunteers—you brighten our community every day! 

AmeriCorps: Progress Report Supplement

Every fall, RSVP has to submit a progress report to AmeriCorps, and some of the information comes from the demographic survey we sent out at the beginning of August. Eighty-eight of you – about half of our active volunteers – completed the survey, and we thought you might be interested in reading some of the results.  

Over three-quarters of respondents were women. The vast majority – 73 – were between the ages of 60 and 79, with only nine under 60 and five between the ages of 80 and 85. Seventy-eight respondents were white, two black, five Asian or Asian-American, one was of mixed races, and two declined to answer.  

Nearly all respondents own their homes, either with a mortgage or free and clear. Nobody lives under the poverty level, and most are financially comfortable or very comfortable. Most respondents are not veterans, which was perhaps to be expected with the majority being women.

Again, nothing unexpected or shocking in these results, but still, interesting to know. 😊  

Welcome to our Newest Volunteer Station Partners!  

RSVP continues to onboard new partner volunteer stations where our volunteers might find meaningful and impactful ways to serve. We are excited to welcome our newest partners, the Fairfax County Parenting Education Program (PEP), and the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation (DBA: Children’s Science Center). Be sure to reach out to RSVP Program Manager Stacey Iden if you're interested in exploring volunteer opportunities with either of these new partners.

• RSVP timely submitted the continuation grant application through AmeriCorps to fund our April 1, 2025-March 31, 2026, program and we are waiting award feedback. 

• RSVP hosted several Volunteer Station Mission Meetups for partner volunteer stations to learn more about the RSVP program and basic grant information to enhance our partnerships and collaborative efforts. The Volunteer Station Handbook had a complete overhaul and is located on the RSVP website pages along with the Volunteer Handbook.

• As part of the Bee Better volunteer engagement series, two Medicare presentations were provided by Sharon Accardo, Senior Insurance Advisor & Community Educator with Innovative Insurance Group, LLC. Sharon is available to provide ongoing support to RSVP volunteers who might need some additional assistance during the current Medicare enrollment period that ends on December 7. If you would like a copy of the power point presentation, please contact siden@volunteerfairfax.org.

• RSVP participated in the November 3 Venture into Volunteering Beacon 50+ Expo event at Springfield Town Center to promote RSVP and recruit new members. We enjoyed the friendly visits from RSVP members who stopped by to say hello. It was a busy yet fruitful day as we had a lot of traffic at our table and made a lot of new connections with potential volunteers.  

• Stacey Iden, RSVP Program Manager is participating in the Fairfax County Isolation & Loneliness Workgroup. Social isolation and a lack of social connectivity are growing issues that can pose serious physical and mental health risks to our older adult community. Therefore, creating a collaborative space to discuss existing programs, identify gaps and brainstorm innovative solutions to foster meaningful connections for older adults who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing social isolation and loneliness is key to addressing this epidemic. The group has been tasked with generating innovative recommendations for programming and awareness to address social isolation and loneliness.  



• During October and November 22 new volunteers started the RSVP onboarding process and we are excited to welcome them to our RSVP family!  

RSVP Team Member Stacey Iden:

A Few Fun Facts!

Favorite season? Spring and Fall, as long as it’s sunny and the temperature is above 70 

Coffee or tea? Neither – only drink plain hot water 

Early bird or night owl? Both – there's a lot that I want to do each day!  

Favorite movie? Have a hard time staying awake for movies, much prefer listening to podcasts or reading a book  

Favorite food? For medical reasons, I am gluten free and eat clean, so lots of fruits and veggies for me 

Favorite color? Earthy neutrals 

Best place you ever traveled to? Ireland – love Celtic music and dance, and rocks!   

One fun fact about yourself? For the first 10 years of my career, I taught in public schools, Kindergarten and 1st grade  

What’s one word or phrase you would use to describe volunteers? Zealous and inspiring!