RSVP, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program for people 55 and older, is looking for volunteers to meet community needs, especially in area schools.  Most volunteers serve just one hour per week and scheduling is flexible.  When you share your time and talents, you make an impact.  No one in the world has had the exact same experiences you have had and no one else can share what those experiences have taught you.  Volunteer to share your experience today!

The opportunities with RSVP of North Central Iowa are varied:

Reading Buddy volunteers help elementary-school students who need extra one-one-one attention to improve their reading skills. Reading Buddy is offered in every county served by RSVP.

Reading Coach volunteers help middle school students improve their reading fluency and comprehension. This program is offered in Buffalo Center, Forest City, Hampton, Kanawha, Mason City, and Ventura.

Pen Pal volunteers exchange letters monthly with 4^th and 5^th grade students to help develop writing skills and foster intergenerational relationships. The Pen Pal program is offered in Britt, Clear Lake, Forest City, Garner, Hampton, Mason City, and Osage, and Pen Pals can live anywhere in the RSVP service area to write to a student.

Breakfast Buddy volunteers provide a positive and nurturing environment at the school-sponsored breakfast at Forest City Elementary School so students are ready to learn when they enter the classroom.

Walking Buddy volunteers connect with students as they exercise on the walking path at South Side Elementary School in Hampton.

Mason City Walking School Bus volunteers lead groups of children in their neighborhood from home to school along designated routes in the fall and spring

Lake Mills Crossing Guards help provide safe passage for students arriving and leaving school in the busy intersections that surround Lake Mills Elementary School.

Cerro Gordo County Disaster Response volunteers answer non-emergency calls made to the Phone Bank or assist the Volunteer Reception Center process spontaneous volunteer workers.

International Friends matches new international students at NIACC with a friend from the community to provide a perspective on American culture that they may not experience on campus.

IRIS volunteers are the voices that read news and information for blind and print-handicapped listeners at the KCMR radio station in Mason City to help keep them connected to their communities.

American Red Cross Blood Drive volunteers greet donors at the registration table or provide snacks at the canteen. Blood drives are held in each of the counties RSVP serves.

For more information about RSVP of North Central Iowa and to enroll, visit www.niacc.edu/rsvp/, call (888) 466-4222 ext. 4256, (641) 422-4256 or email rsvp@niacc.edu. RSVP of North Central Iowa serves the counties of Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hancock, Mitchell, Winnebago and Worth responding to priority community needs by providing meaningful, purposeful volunteer opportunities for people ages 55 and over. RSVP is sponsored by North Iowa Area Community College and is partly funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service, State of Iowa, United Way of North Central Iowa and local county governments.

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