The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Humboldt & Del Norte Counties

If you are over the age of 55, you can join the ranks of nearly 800 Retired and Senior Volunteer Program volunteers in Humboldt & Del Norte Counties who give their time at hundreds of local agencies to make a difference in the community. RSVP is part of Senior Corps, a network of national service programs under the umbrella of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which provides older Americans the opportunity to apply their life experience to meeting community needs. In 2003, approximately 455,000 RSVP volunteers served 71 million hours through 65,000 volunteer stations across the nation.

Local RSVP Volunteer Opportunities

Local RSVP volunteers serve in a diverse range of nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and schools. Among many activities, they volunteer as Pen Pals to students, Resource Speakers and in-class assistants through the SHARE program. Craft Groups create items for local Head Start, nursing homes and other organizations. Sheriff’s Citizens on Patrol members conduct neighborhood patrols and various other activities to assist with public safety needs. RSVP Volunteers also serve in hospitals, medical offices, food banks, thrift shops, and local State and National Parks. RSVP Volunteers lend their skills to hundreds of community groups that provide critical social and environmental services in our community.

Volunteer Benefits

RSVP provides referral services, supplemental volunteer insurance coverage, limited mileage reimbursement, and recognition. There is no fee to participate. We ask you to report your monthly service hours to our office.

For more information, call RSVP at 442-3711 in Humboldt or 464-7876 in Del Norte, or email.

“Senior volunteering, we know, yields a double benefit. Not only do communities and individuals benefit from the services provided by senior volunteers, but the volunteers themselves realize proven health benefits through social interaction, ongoing engagement, opportunities to contribute, and a sense of purpose and accomplishment.” --David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National & Community Service

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Craft Groups

The Volunteer Center sponsors three craft groups in Humboldt County. They are the Craf-T-Crafters, Katie's Krafters, Loose Ends (Del Norte County), and the Woodcrafters. Each of these groups focuses on particular talents, abilities or qualifications of primarily older volunteers (most of them RSVP members), and provides, in each case, an ongoing platform for the application of these abilities to specific continuing needs in the community. This connection not only helps serve these community needs effectively, but also provides motivation and a stable and graceful entry point to volunteering for older people with specific skills and talents.

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Woodcrafters:

The Woodcrafter idea was born in 1987 with the establishment of a similar group called PROMPT, an acronym for Putting Retired Older Men & Projects Together. Contrary to this original title the group has never been limited to men. Three women have been active woodcrafters in the past, and the present constituency would welcome with great pleasure, any interested men or women.

The Woodcrafters group is comprised of a small collection of craftspeople adept at woodworking, administered directly through the Volunteer Center with the advice and supervision of RSVP staff. The Woodcrafters build a wide variety of needed items for non-profit agencies, and annually create an extensive collection of Christmas toys for charity organizations. They provide a valuable service for several non-profit community schools and agencies that simply cannot afford the labor costs involved in procuring well-crafted wood items customized to their needs. The group meets monthly at the Volunteer Center to assign projects, note progress and share practical and creative ideas. Orders and requests for needed items to be built are received through the RSVP staff and distributed to available craftspeople.

This group designs, builds and creates anything from the smallest toy trucks or bird houses to fairly extensive projects such as storage sheds, raised outdoor planters and an in-classroom loft. Probably the group's single most active client is Northcoast Children's Services which administers all Head Start and Early Head Start programs in the county.

Organizations can request Woodcrafters products by calling the Volunteer Center. You will be asked to pay for materials and a nominal administrative fee per piece. We will send you guidelines for working with the group. We ask that you provide a “blueprint” with a picture and specifications of the piece you are requesting.

If you have a background in woodworking, your own tools and working space, and you are interested in volunteering with the Woodcrafters group, please call 707-442-3711 or email.

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Katie’s Krafters:

Katie State, one strongly motivated and very creative woman with a vision of community service, established this craft group in the 1970s. Katie’s Krafters is a very organized and active organization of about 40 expert seamstresses. The group meets twice weekly at the Arcata Community Center and creates primarily lap robes and larger quilts. Biannually, participants distribute lap robes and visit with residents at regional rest homes. The group also sells some of their hand-crafted items, donating the money to charity.

For more information on Katie’s Krafters, call 442-3711 or email.

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Craf-T-Crafters:

Craf-T-Crafters was formed in 1975 by a group of volunteers who loved sewing and craft projects and wanted to get together for social experience. Their current focus is service to the community.

Currently, Craf-T-Crafters is a small group of volunteers who enjoy crocheting and knitting. Monthly meetings in Fortuna provide an opportunity to discuss projects and socialize. Craf-T-Crafters donate items such as lap robes, hats, socks, and baby sweaters to local organizations.

For information on joining the Craf-T-Crafters in Fortuna, call 442-3711 or email.

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Loose Ends

"Loose Ends" is the name chosen by a widely varied group of women who knit, crochet and quilt items for donation to Del Norte non-profit agencies. We’re a lively mix of RSVP members and younger women. Currently we’re working on youth blankets for youngsters at Harrington House, in foster care and at the Child Care Council.

We get together on Tuesday afternoons at 1 pm at the Del Norte Senior Center, and new members are always welcome to join us. Some of our members are unable to leave their homes, and so others deliver materials and pick up their finished items. For more information call Inez at (707) 464-7876 ext. 136, or email dnrsvp@a1aa.org.