Newsletter Winter 2018-19--webster:hamilton

Microsoft

Serving Hamilton and
Webster Countiesd

Current

Winter 2018-19Volunteer Opportunities
Newsletter Date

Join us at our Open House Inside this issue:
to Celebrate Christmas!
RSVP Brag Book 2
To celebrate Christmas and to thank our volunteers Photo Collage
for another great year of volunteering, Central Iowa
RSVP will host a Christmas Open House on Friday, Volunteer 3
Dec. 14, 11:00-1:00 at Citizens Central in Fort Opportunities 3
Dodge, and Tuesday, Dec. 18, 10am to 4pm, at Thank to Weatherization
749 2nd Street, Webster City. Cookies and other Donors and Teams
goodies and hot drinks will be served. All RSVP
volunteers are welcome. Please stop by to enjoy the Consider Local Small 4
refreshments, as well as to enter a drawing for a Businesses as you Shop
special Christmas gift. Everyone who stops in will
receive a small thank-you gift from RSVP. The RSVP Annual Report is
now available. Stop by at our
offices to pick one up, or view
at www.rsvpvolunteer

Volunteers Warm Hearts and Homes in
RSVP’s Winter Weatherization Program

Community volunteers in Hamilton and Webster Counties

donated their time to weatherize the homes of low-income, frail

elderly, and veterans. Weatherization services included putting

plastic on windows, weather stripping and draft dodgers for doors,
window putty in gaps in frames, insulating gaskets for outlet and

switch plates, and installing new furnace filters.

In Fort Dodge, the Iowa Central rugby team and the Senior High welding and home improvement classes

served as volunteers, and did a great job installing the weatherization materials. A number of RSVP

volunteers led the students to serve 10 apartments and 4 homes.

In Webster City, 56 volunteers from the community came together on “Everybody was
Saturday, Nov. 3 to have breakfast together and then head out to serve 31 so nice and
homes in Hamilton County. Thanks to a grant from Enhance Hamilton County friendly!! Thank
Foundation and a generous gift from St. Thomas Aquinas social justice you so much!!”
committee, more types of weatherization materials were made available, such —Lisa, winter
as water heater blankets, carbon monoxide detectors, air conditioner covers, weatherization
and energy efficient light bulbs. The American Red Cross provided and installed recipient
smoke detectors, and the Webster City Fire Department installed the water
heater blankets.
“A lot of work goes into the project even before the day of the event,” said
RSVP Volunteer Coordinator Becky Koppen. “This project would never

succeed without the help of many volunteers.”

Winter 2018-19 RSVP Brag Book Photo Collage

Top: BASE Senior Fitness Class stretches out
at Fuller Hall.
Center: ICCC Rugby team members help with
winter weatherization.
Volunteers make Christmas bookmarks for
Kendall Young Library.
Vicki Blaufuss, Joyce Harms, Sue Doolittle and
Bonnie Reck (not pictured) received training
for SPAN the Generations opioid abuse
prevention education.

Fort Dodge Senior High welding class and Home Improvement class with RSVP volunteers, ready to do winter weatherization.
56 community volunteers eating breakfast pizza together at the Senior Center in Webster City before weatherizing on Nov. 3.
BASE Senior Fitness class uses stretch bands at Webster City Senior Center.
Speak Up! Class at St. Edmonds Elementary celebrates completion of their speech education class, led by RSVP volunteers.

Current Volunteer Opportunities Winter 2018-19

The following opportunities are available to all volunteers in Hamilton and Webster Counties.
If you are interested in an assignment in another community, RSVP can provide mileage
reimbursement. For more information, contact Becky Koppen in Webster City at
515-832-2525 or Terri Laufersweiler in Fort Dodge at 515-573-3477.

Youth Shelter Meals On Wheels
Volunteers are needed to develop a relationship with Meals on Wheels is looking for people who are willing
school age kids who are in shelter care, making cookies, to deliver meals one day a week . Routes run in Webster
popping popcorn and watching movies. Call Terri to City M-F, 11:00-12:00.
discuss details of this volunteer opportunity
IRIS
Nursing Home Activities The Iowa Radio Reading Service is looking for people to
Area nursing homes are looking for volunteers who will read the local newspaper over the radio as a service to
play cards (especially “500”), do scrapbooking and crafts, sight impaired. Reading is done at Friendship Haven.
help with parties, work on culinary arts, or simply sit and
visit with residents. Community and Family Resources
Volunteers are needed to put labels on brochures and
SPEAK UP! Leaders other items for Community and Family Resources, an
Speak Up! is an 8-week curriculum which teaches 5th organization that seeks to help people with addictions.
graders how to give a speech, as well as other speaking
skills. Volunteers will be trained and provided with all Seeking New Volunteers
necessary materials to lead the classes. New RSVP volunteers are always welcome and needed!
If you know someone who would enjoy getting involved
with RSVP, please recommend them to us.

Thank You,
Warm Hearts
Warm Homes

Donors
and Teams

Hamilton County team leaders meet before heading out to weatherize homes.

Winter weatherization is a service that Central volunteers. We want to recognize the following
Iowa RSVP does free of charge for low income, frail organizations for providing teams of volunteers:
elderly, or veterans in Hamilton and Webster Availa Bank
counties . The cost of materials must be supplied by City of Webster City
grants or donations. This year, RSVP received a First Congregational United Church of Christ, WC
grant from Enhance Hamilton County Foundation Fort Dodge Senior High welding and home
which allowed us to increase the materials we could
offer to homeowners to lower their utility improvement classes
expenses. The Social Justice Committee of St. Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department
Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church also donated Iowa Central Nursing Department
generously to the weatherization project. Hy-Vee Iowa Central Rugby Team
donated 5 gallons of orange juice for breakfast. New Covenant Christian Church, Fort Dodge
Southfield Wellness Center
The weatherization work is done by community
Van Diest Medical Center

Central Iowa RSVP Staff Studies have shown that when you buy from an
independent, locally owned business, rather than a
Kalen Petersen, Director nationally owned business, significantly more of your
515-733-4917 money is used to make purchases from other local
businesses, service providers, and farms — further
[email protected] strengthening the whole community. SHOP LOCAL!

Becky Koppen
Hamilton County Coordinator

749 2nd Street
Webster City, IA 50595

515-832-2525
[email protected]

Terri Laufersweiler
Webster County Coordinator

617 Central Avenue
Fort Dodge, IA 50501

515-573-3477
[email protected]

Kendra Breitsprecher
Marketing and Rural Coordinator

Webster County
[email protected]

Pat Firnhaber
Office Coordinator

515-733-4917
[email protected]

PRSRT STD Central Iowa RSVP
U.S. Postage Paid
Webster City, IA Serving Hamilton and Webster Counties
Permit #9
749 2nd Street
Visit us on the web! Webster City, IA 50595
www.rsvpvolunteer.org
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Fre2e01Gi9ftCaErncClaloesnedd!ar

Central Iowa RSVP