Voices United Teams with Denton RSVP

Jane Scholz

Voices United members signed up in January to mark Jan. 20, the Martin Luther King annual day of service, with three projects, working through the Chisholm Trail Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

RSVP is a federally authorized national service program of AmeriCorps Seniors that provides volunteers age 55+ with the opportunity to apply their experience to meeting community needs. Nationally, it has existed since 1971. RSVP connects volunteers with service opportunities that promote positive change and help solve community problems.

Nino de la Garza, the project manager for the Denton chapter, spoke at the Voices January meeting about RSVP and what the group does in Denton County. RSVP serves as a channel for volunteers to a number of local nonprofit organizations, but also operates its own service called Rockin’ Readers.

Rockin’ Readers sends senior volunteers to local public schools to read to students, helping to instill the joy of reading with young people. This very popular program has been in place since 2002.

On the day of service, Voices volunteers worked at:

• Denton Christian Preschool, helping the preschool to prepare classroom materials and assist teachers preparing for the spring semester;

• The MLK Service Day Celebration, assisting with the celebration and parade from the American Legion Hall to the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center; and

• The Shiloh Field Community Garden, planting, seeding, and other gardening activities, focusing on onions.

For more information about Chisholm Trail RSVP, go to rsvpserves.org.

Voices United is a non-partisan group of Robson Ranch women who share progressive values, perform community outreach, provide civic awareness and social contact for members, and have a good time! We’re a 501(c)(3) group. Our annual dues are $25.

For more information, contact [email protected] or visit voicesunitedrr.org.