History

MISSION

Nevada Rural Counties Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) mission is to provide lifesaving volunteer programs that help seniors maintain their dignity, self-respect & independence.

RSVP provides well-trained volunteers that assist seniors including the homebound elderly, caregivers, veterans and persons with disabilities with lifesaving services.  Our essential social supportive services include door-to-door escorted transportation, companionship, respite care, no cost legal assistance, Farmer’s Market Coupons, critical food and medicine delivery, homemaker services, personal emergency response systems, Veterans assistance and more.

HISTORY

For more than 45 years the Nevada Rural Counties Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) has been serving seniors and others in need in the rural and frontier counties of Nevada with independent living program services.  In 1973 RSVP was established as a self-sponsored non-profit 501 (c)(3) corporation, and began the first RSVP rural program as a satellite of Washoe County RSVP.  In 1974 – a 5 Rural Counties RSVP program was launched by a grant to the Carson River Basin Council of Governments as sponsor; and by 1988 – a 15 Rural Counties RSVP grant was given by ACTION to the City of Carson City as sponsor.  In 1993, the sponsorship for the 15 Nevada Rural Counties under a non-profit agency, Nevada Rural Counties RSVP Program, Inc. was awarded by ACTION. This same year, the Older American Volunteer Program (OVAP) was re-authorized as National Senior Volunteer Corps by the National and Community Trust Act.

RSVP is an AmeriCorps Seniors Program which strengthens communities and fosters civic engagement among people age 55 and older.

RSVP is dedicated to providing evidence-based and evidence-supported programs which has enabled thousands of senior citizens to remain at home and out of costly institutions.  The result has saved millions of dollars to taxpayers for long-term care, and helped these seniors to live their lives with dignity and in their own homes, where they can remain a vital part of their communities.

RSVP’s service region includes a mostly rural, low-income geographic area of more than 108,000 square miles.  Services are offered in Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe and White Pine Counties. The total population of these rural counties is 327,830, of which 31% are seniors 55 years of age and older, 26% of whom are living under the published federal poverty guidelines according to the Nevada State Demographers Office.  Additionally,  RSVP offers respite care in Washoe County.

Last year more than 850 registered and active volunteers in rural Nevada provided over 89,000 hours of volunteer service to more than 9,529 seniors and others in need. RSVP has played a vital, social services leadership role in the communities we serve. RSVP continues to expand its role to assist the vulnerable and homebound elderly, Veterans, caregivers, adults living with a disability and others in need to enhance the quality of life in Nevada.