Event Coverage
RSVP a Success, 587 Volunteers Help 432 Households in Bay Area
The Los Altos/Mountain View District had 105 RSVP volunteers this year. Congratulations to Bill Lewis' Alain Pinel Realtors office for winning the District trophy for the office with the most RSVP volunteers!
During RSVP (Realtor Service Volunteer Program) Week - May 5-10, a total of 587 Realtors and affiliates from four REALTOR® associations on the Peninsula and in the South Bay visited 432 households and helped senior residents and the homebound with household tasks the residents cannot do on their own. In SILVAR's five districts alone, 300 volunteers helped 204 senior residents.
The annual week-long activity is part of the Realtor Service Volunteer Program (RSVP), an annual outreach program in which Realtors and affiliates help seniors and the homebound with household tasks like washing windows, installing smoke detector batteries, flipping mattresses, replacing light bulbs, changing furnace filters and trimming bushes.
RSVP was started by SILVAR members in 2001 and adopted as an official community outreach project by SILVAR the following year. The program expanded to members of the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS® (SAMCAR) in 2003. The Fresno Association of REALTORS® followed suit two years ago. Last year, members of the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS® joined SILVAR and SAMCAR to provide the service in the Bay Area, and this year, the Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS® came on board.
At a home in Mountain View, RSVP volunteers Yasemin Richardson, Alan Huwe, Fred Hibbert, Ric Parker and Ken Stuart prepared the soil so the 80-year-old senior homeowner could plant flowers. Then they raked leaves, cut ivy that was creeping into her property, and washed her windows.
A former kindergarten teacher and longtime resident of the area, the senior homeowner said, "It's amazing that they do these things for us. When you get to be my age, it's a challenge to get around and do yard work."
At the home of a Los Altos senior homeowner who is legally blind, Ki Nyborg prepared her flower bed, Diane Vernon trimmed some bushes, JoAnn Fishpaw washed the windows, and Gerry Lawrence repaired a hinge on her screen door.
The senior homeowner signs up for the service every year. "I don't know what I would do without them," she exclaimed.
An 83-year-old Palo Alto resident praised Lisa Wittkopf, Ernesto Nassau and Greg Celotti, as they took to the task of turning over her mattress, making her bed, and moving her dresser so they could clean behind it.
The senior had a bad foot and said it was difficult for her to do heavy work around her home. "This service is great. It makes a difference whether I can function on my own," she said.
In Menlo Park, the program was extended so volunteers could help all the households that requested assistance, so last Wednesday, at the height of the heat wave, volunteers were busy at the apartment of Mariam Kanter. Kanter, who will be 90 in a few weeks, needed help to move her furniture. The volunteers also swept her porch, washed windows, changed light bulbs, washed screens and replaced smoke detector batteries.
"I think they are a gift from heaven," Kanter exclaimed. "I can't lift anything these days. Even a grocery package is too much for me. It's not only the help they give, but they do it with an attitude that makes you feel like they are delighted to do it."
"It is very rewarding to share conversation and friendship with these seniors and complete basic and necessary household tasks for them," said SILVAR RSVP Chair Eileen Giorgi. "It's also very satisfying at the end of RSVP week to know we have made a valuable contribution to our communities."
RSVP volunteer Fred Hibbert recalled the homeowner his team helped that morning and said, "We put in the most elbow grease in her home, but we got the best feeling of accomplishment knowing it made a difference in this one person's life."
Thank you to all who volunteered and assisted in making this year's RSVP a success. Special thanks to MLSListings Inc. for its support of the program and supplying the t-shirts for all the volunteers.
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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.
For further information, please contact Rose Meily at SILVAR Public Affairs, email , or phone (408) 200-0109.