| source: | Nayes, Lynn |
| Creator: | Volunteer Center @ RSVP |
| Title: | Volunteer Center at RSVP Fort Wayne Records |
| Collection No.: | MSS167 |
| Dates: | 1973-2004 |
| Quantity: |
Quantity: 0.8 cubic feet Quantity: 2 letter-sized document cases |
| Abstract: | Volunteer Center at the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) Fort Wayne - Allen County was the first RSVP group in Indiana and started on August 1st, 1972. It began with the Older Americans Act and was funded by the federal volunteer agency, Agency for Volunteer Service (ACTION). The group committed to provide individuals with opportunities for meaningful volunteer experiences that benefit the community. Their program included not only volunteer works such as helping school children, rolling bandages for the hospital burn units and having community events, but also educationals opportunities like a presentation by the Police Department about identification theft and social activities like field trips and picnics. |
| Language: | English . |
| Repository: | IUPUI Philanthropic Studies Archives IUPUI University Library 755 W. Michigan St. Room 0133 Indianapolis, IN 46202 Business Number: 317-274-4064 speccoll@iupui.edu URL: http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/special |
Volunteer Center at the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) Fort Wayne - Allen County began with the Older Americans Act. The federal volunteer agency, the Agency for Volunteer Service (ACTION), funded the program, and it was sponsored locally by Catholic Charities when it started. It was the first RSVP group in Indiana and started on August 1st, 1972 with six senior volunteers enrolled, four participant agencies and thirty volunteer hours. Marilou Mendel, the first director, got the program off to a strong start and in May 1973, the group had grown to 400 enrolled volunteers providing 6,000 volunteer hours every month. After Jean Joley was named the new director in November 1988, the group expanded to 704 enrolled volunteers, providing 120,000 hours a year under her direction.
The program was developed with the two-fold idea of giving Americans 60 years and older the opportunity for meaningful volunteer experiences that benefited the community, and providing various service stations where they could serve according to their needs and skills. The program included volunteer works such as helping school children, rolling bandages for hospital burn units and having community events; educational opportunities like a presentation by the Police Department about identification theft; and social activities like field trips and picnics.
This collection is comprised of Correspondence, Pamphlets, Meeting minute, Advisory Adversary Council, Newsletters and Program Notices, Indiana RSVP List, Mailing List, Volunteers, Manuals, Fund Raising Proposal, Annual Recognition Event, Press Releases, News scraps, Fort Wayne Bicentennial Commission Certificate of Award, and Photographs.
Correspondence contains a 1988 letter from Ronald Reagan to senior volunteers for appreciation of their RSVP commitment; invitation letters for RSVP events; and responses from J. Edward Roush, a member of congress, Birch Bayh, a senator on the Judiciary Committee, Maurice E. Endwright, executive director, and Mavi Jump, commission field representative of the Commission on the Aging and Aged, Indiana State.
Pamphlets contains pamphlets about Fort Wanye RSVP programs, related organizations such as the Indiana Federation of Older Hoosiers, Inc., Cultural Enrichment and Transportation for Senior Citizens (CENTS), and ACTION.
The Meeting Minutes and Adversary Council folders have minutes from a January 1978 meeting, meeting minutes of the Recognition Committees and Nominating Committees, Evaluation Committee meeting reports, and a list of council members.
Bi-monthly, quarterly or sometime irregularly published newsletters contain program information and program calendars. Newsletter folders from 1972 to 1981 also include program notice flyers. For public relations purposes, newsletters from related organizations such as RSVP at Gray and Aurora, Coming of Age, Action Age, and Digest the Elvrita Lewis Foundation Elder Press are contained in Newsletters from Related Organizations and Articles.
Manuals contains the RSVP introductory manual for volunteers. Through the manual, volunteers could find the background, financing, benefits and intended participants of RSVP, information about ACTION, and program objectives.
The Fort Wayne RSVP volunteer center's biggest event was the annual May recognition event. Pamphlets, scripts, work sheets, a receipt for a luncheon reservation, and attendee, transportation and invitation lists are contained in the Annual Recognition Events folder. Several other program related documents are in the Events folder.
Photographs includes photos from several volunteer programs during 2001 to 2002, such as the Triad Identity Theft Prevention Program at Three Rivers Festival 2002, Fort Wayne Volunteer Center holiday celebration at Kingston Residence, gift wrapping at Glenbrook, Safe Kids presentation and Halloween events.
This collection is open to the public.
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Volunteer Center at RSVP Fort Wayne Records, 1973-2004, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, IUPUI University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis.
Donated by Lynn Nayes at the Indiana Senior Corps Directors Association meeting in Greenwood, IN on August 9, 2019.
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