Abstract

RSVP of King County, Washington, has developed an RSVP Ambassadors group to complement staff efforts to spread the word about RSVP services and volunteer opportunities. A core group of approximately 20 active, 50+ adults have been trained by RSVP staff to provide speakers bureau services to area community groups and special-interest organizations. The ambassadors are also poised to staff tables at community events and employer fairs to spread the word about RSVP volunteer opportunities to older adults in King County. This effective practice was submitted by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory/LEARNS in November 2006.

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Issue

The staff at RSVP of King County includes two full-time employees (the director and program coordinator), plus support staffing for approximately half-time hours. As a result, staff members were stretched to provide outreach to and increase awareness of RSVP among 50+ adults, including baby boomers, around the Seattle metro area. Help was needed to recruit this growing volunteer resource to fill the many local volunteer opportunities available through RSVP.

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Action

According to the Director of the King County RSVP:

• Staff of RSVP of King County discussed with their advisory council the need for more people-power to get the word out about RSVP and recruit new volunteers, especially baby boomers.
• Within the council, an RSVP Ambassadors group was conceived and a committee formed to research the possibilities for outreach and form the group.
• At this point, the RSVP program coordinator spends about 15 percent of her time as the liaison to the Ambassador group. The continuing development of this group is due, in part, to her work facilitating the now-quarterly group training that includes an overview of RSVP, public presentation skills, and teambuilding activities.
• The program coordinator uses email to keep in touch with Ambassador members and to nurture group cohesiveness.
• The RSVP staff have been open to initiatives of the volunteers, who bring important skills to the Ambassador enterprise. One volunteer, for instance, is recently retired from working as a manager in the human resource field for the federal government and is helping this RSVP develop links to local HR professional groups and employer HR departments.
• A goal for the RSVP Ambassadors is to contribute to employer pre-retirement services by providing soon-to-retire employees an introduction to volunteer opportunities through RSVP and a glimpse of how volunteering can be a meaningful and positive part of their next life phase.

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Context

RSVP of King County is under the umbrella of the Fremont Public Association, an anti-poverty nonprofit organization that serves Seattle and King County, Washington. RSVP of King County places volunteers with Fremont Public Association programs/services, but the mission of King County RSVP is broader in focus than anti-poverty. Currently, the RSVP of King County places volunteers with about 100 stations in the King County area.

King County is located in western Washington State, bordering Puget Sound. At 2,307 square miles, the county is Washington's largest in area (approximately double the land area of the state of Rhode Island) and population (1,737,034, Census 2000). Seattle is the largest city (568,100, Census 2000), but most of the county's population lives in the suburbs.

Seattle boasts relatively high income and education levels for a major city and King County is among the 100 wealthiest counties in the U.S. Median household income in 2000 was $53,157; however, 8.4 percent of the population lived below poverty. The county's racial makeup is: 75 percent white, 10.8 percent Asian, 5.4 percent Black/African American, 0.9 percent Native American, 0.5 percent Pacific Islander, and 4.5 percent other/mixed race; 5.5 percent report ethnicity as Hispanic/Latino (Census 2000; approximate figures).

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Posted On

December 6, 2006

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For More Information

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Related Practices

• Choosing appropriate outreach techniques for different generations
• Understanding adult learning when training senior volunteers
• Using Instant Messaging to promote communication with volunteers

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Related sites

Senior Corps Programs: About RSVP

Topic Areas

• Baby boomer volunteers
• Recruitment
• Boards and advisory councils
• Marketing and media
• Senior Corps
• Volunteer
• RSVP
• Program management
• LEARNS

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