Last week, REALTORS® and affiliates from the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® assisted seniors and the homebound with household tasks. The REALTOR® Service Volunteer Program (RSVP) is a free home service SILVAR members have provided for senior homeowners and renters in their communities for over 10 years.
During the week of May 7-11, SILVAR members assisted senior residents in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, parts of Santa Clara, Los Gatos and Saratoga by performing tasks like washing windows, installing smoke detector batteries, flipping mattresses, light vacuuming, replacing light bulbs and furnace filters and light yard work. Their work means so much to the seniors, many of whom have no family nearby, or are too shy to ask for help from friends or relatives.
"We hate to admit that we're getting old and can no longer do all this work. It's so very kind of you to help us," an 82-year-old homeowner told the volunteers who washed his outside screens and windows.
"We really receive more than we give," said SILVAR RSVP chair Eileen Giorgi. "The seniors ask for so little and are so appreciative of the help we can give them."
"The simple tasks we do make them more comfortable and safe in their homes. For many seniors, the help we provide allows them to remain in their homes longer. It's our way of giving back to the generation that has given so much to us," added Giorgi.
RSVP volunteers assisted a 76-year-old woman and her 80-year-old husband by washing screens and windows and trimming bushes. The wife in a wheelchair recently had a stroke and then fell and broke her hip. They have no children.
"It's frustrating not being able to do things and we guessed it was time to break down and ask for help," the wife said. "My husband tries to do everything and he's running himself down."
One elderly Menlo Park homeowner who lives alone with no family nearby, called the volunteers "my angels." "You are an answer to my prayers, a gift from heaven. I am so overwhelmed," she told volunteers who washed her curtains and fixed her front porch.
"I really wish we could do more for them, and I wish we could help even more seniors," said David Barca. "You learn so much through conversations with them, and you end up getting attached to them, as well."
Barca started the program with other REALTORS® in 2001. The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® launched RSVP as an official outreach project the following year. The program has expanded to include volunteers from the San Mateo County, Santa Clara County and Santa Cruz County Associations of REALTORS®. Barca hopes to expand RSVP to all REALTOR® associations in California.
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 email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.