Volunteering From Home is Fun and Effective
RSVP volunteer Geri Kane makes a big impact, without leaving the house. You may be familiar with her voice. When there’s a job to be done for organizations in the East Metro, Geri is the one who gets the word out. Mobility issues keep her at home, but that doesn't stop her from volunteering. She spends hours each week calling volunteers to see who is available for special projects.
For example, “Every summer, Geri organizes volunteers to put together 1500 bags of school supplies,” says Literacy Coordinator Connie Erickson. The bags are given to CAP Headstart students moving into kindergarten. “She coordinates the whole thing,” says Connie. “ I give her the information about what’s needed, and she takes it from there.”
Geri says “I love doing it--it keeps me in touch.” In fact, she's made friends she's never met in person. When foot surgery forced Geri into a nursing home to convalesce, the response from other volunteers surprised her. She said "One lady even wanted to come and see me, and we'd never met."
While Geri was laid up, her value as a special projects coordinator became extremely clear in the RSVP office. There were numerous calls from organizations asking who was going to get volunteers for their projects, and staff scrambled to keep up. “I was amazed at how much time and organization it took to get people together for a project,” said records coordinator Jeanne Dobson. “We’d be lost without Geri.”
-Geri