The REALTOR® Service Volunteer Program (RSVP), a community outreach project of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) for the past 12 years, will be featured on public television and on the Internet the first week of September, with interviews with the program's co-founder David Barca, RSVP chair Eileen Giorgi, REALTOR® volunteers and senior homeowners from local communities.
The program about Silicon Valley REALTORS® helping seniors and the homebound with household tasks will telecast September 1 - 7 throughout Silicon Valley on "The Better Part," a public access television program produced by seniors from the Cupertino Senior Center. In the show, both Barca and Giorgi are interviewed by host Suzanne Barnett. Volunteers performing household tasks and the senior homeowners also provide comments about the REALTOR® community outreach program.
Each year during a designated week in May, teams of REALTOR® and affiliate volunteers provide senior citizens who are physically or financially challenged free assistance with household tasks they can no longer perform on their own. Such tasks include replacing light bulbs, changing furnace filters, cleaning windows, flipping mattresses, or installing new smoke detector batteries.
"For homeowners or renters who are advanced in years and are physically and financially challenged, some household tasks can pose a major challenge," said Barca.
Barca, together with members of SILVAR's Palo Alto and Menlo Park/Atherton districts, started the program in 2001. RSVP was adopted as an official association community outreach project the following year, with REALTORS® and affiliates (professionals who provide industry-related services) helping seniors living in SILVAR's five districts. These include the communities of Atherton, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, Woodside, Portola Valley, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, and Los Gatos.
RSVP has since spread throughout the Peninsula and South Bay, involving members of SILVAR, the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS®, Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS®, and Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS®. The program has served over 4,000 seniors and the homebound since its inception. This year 447 RSVP volunteers from these associations helped 297 senior households in their communities; 241 volunteers from SILVAR assisted 118 seniors.
"As REALTORS®, we sell the benefits and aspirations of our communities," said Giorgi. "We are also neighbors and know about local needs. We share the desire for our communities to be great places to live and are committed to give back to those who have built our communities. This program enables us to help seniors and the homebound enjoy their homes in the community for a longer time."
Producing the show was an eye-opening experience for Diane Sparks, executive producer of "The Better Part." "When I learned of the program, I thought it was worthwhile to show our communities that REALTORS® don't just sell houses; they also do a lot of good work for our communities," said Sparks. "Filming the volunteers helping the seniors and witnessing the appreciation among the seniors, showed me what a difference the program has made in their lives."
The program will be shown in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Stanford and Atherton on Comcast Ch 30 on Sunday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m.; Monday, Sept. 2, 2:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; Thursday, Sept. 5, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 6, 1:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.; and simulcast on www.communitymediacenter.net. The program can also be accessed on YouTube under the topic "Cupertino City Productions" or visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq4SMM663-8.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
For further information, please contact Rose Meily at SILVAR Public Affairs, email , or phone (408) 200-0109.