NORWALK ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY NOW, Inc.
Retired & Senior Volunteer Program

98 South Main Street
Norwalk, CT  06854-3126
Phone (203) 663-7333
Fax (203) 899-2430
 

 
Darien   Greenwich    New Canaan    Norwalk    Stamford    Weston    Westport    Wilton

NEWS ARCHIVES

RSVP’s New Outreach Coordinator
RSVP has a new Outreach Coordinator: Nancy Pratt. Upon graduation from Springfield College, Nancy spent a number of years working in MA with the disabled population. She has been back in her hometown of Norwalk for over 20 years. Nancy previously worked at the Stamford Rehab Center (formerly Easter Seal) as Vocational Placement Specialist and as Coordinator of Greater Opportunities for Adults with Learning Disabilities, Inc.

Nancy states “I am excited to be a part of RSVP and am looking forward to meeting our volunteers. I’m impressed with the many types of activities being done by our RSVP volunteers in the community and plan to encourage more people to become involved.”

Welcome Nancy!

RSVP Receives Outstanding Volunteer Group Award
The Volunteer Center of New Canaan presented the outstanding senior volunteer group award to RSVP of SW CT at its Annual Volunteer Recognition Awards ceremony held April 2008 at The New Canaan Library. The awards recognize individuals who devote resources for the benefit of the New Canaan Community. A team of 15 RSVP volunteers assists regularly at The New Canaan Nature Center. This dedicated group contributed over 500 hours of service during the 2007 calendar year. Activities included compiling mailings providing information on programmatic activities and community education for the Nature Center.

Teri Klein, RSVP Program Director, accepted the award on behalf of the volunteers, which included a beautiful clock with an engraved plaque.

RSVP Honors its Volunteers
The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Southwestern Connecticut held its 34th annual Volunteer Recognition luncheon May 8, 2008  at Giovanni’s Restaurant in Darien.  More than 300 volunteers were honored for donating over 40,000 hours of community service to over 50 agencies this past year.  RSVP serves the communities of Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Weston, Westport and Wilton.

Selected volunteers were recognized with Outstanding Volunteer Awards.  A special presentation was made to Anna Young for her over 1000 hours of volunteer service to Southwestern CT agencies, and for obtaining more than 90 gift certificates from area businesses, which were given as prizes at the luncheon.

Vidya Teredesai receives RSVP Award of Excellence from Romero Cherry , State Director, Corporation for National and Community Service.

Speakers at the annual luncheon were  Joseph Mann, Executive Director of NEON, Inc. which is the sponsoring agency for RSVP; Romero Cherry, State Director of the Corporation for National & Community Service; Diana Washington, Community Outreach and Grants Coordinator from the Office of Congressman Christopher Shays; State Representative Bob Duff; and Richard Moccia, Mayor of Norwalk.

Entertainment was provided by the Serendipity Chorale, a local community-based volunteer singing group, which has delighted audiences for over 30 years.

The annual luncheon was made possible with support from Courtland Gardens, Norwalk Community College, Silver Hill Hospital, St. Joseph’s Church and Father David Howell, the Westport Woman’s Club, Calvary Baptist Church and Rev. Jeffery Ingraham, Caterina and Todd Sullivan, the March of Dimes, New Canaan Nature Center, the Norwalk Housing Authority, Norwalk-Wilton AARP, Stamford Museum & Nature Center, Betty Voutsinas, and the Wilton Community Team.

RSVP Senior Medical Transportation Assistance Program
This program serves Westport and Weston seniors in need of transportation to medical appointments. It is a partnership of the Westport Departments of Human Services, the Westport-Weston United Way and RSVP.

Due to the positive community response to this program additional assistance is needed. Volunteer phone dispatchers to coordinate rides are needed approximately 3 hours a day, once a week. Volunteer drivers are also welcome. Please contact Sue Lebrija, Westport Department of Human Services (203) 341-1071 slebrija@westportct.gov

Spirit of Service is inspiration to others

United Way

Above left:
A few of the twenty-six volunteers who spent seven days assisting with the mailing for the United Way of Norwalk and Wilton

Above right:
Children in Mr. Nelson’s classroom at the NEON Child Development Program receive hand knitted items crafted by RSVP Volunteers.

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Sharing their skills - RSVP knitters donate their handmade goods

Don Nelson and Dave Tracy hold award presented to the Norwalk Tree Alliance		Mary Giunta helps at the Norwalk Central Library

“It is that time of year…again!”
Volunteers The knitting needles of the RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) volunteers have been busy all year and plain yarn has been transformed into beautiful creations made with love and dedication.

Over two hundred deserving children at the NEON Child Development Program have received Hats, Mittens, and Scarves knitted by volunteers.

RSVP volunteers knit in group programs at locations which include Kingsway Apartments (Norwalk), Ogden House (Wilton), the Westport Women’s Club, and the Norwalk Chapter of Hadassah. Seniors also create items from their homes.

Other “comfort items” that the volunteers created included blankets, quilts, sweaters and baby sets have been distributed to community programs; including the Liberation Programs, the Domestic Violence Crisis Center, and Christian Community Action. Materials are donated to the program by the Wal-Mart Foundation and individuals in the community.

Anyone interested in knitting for RSVP or other volunteer opportunities reaching children and adults in the community please contact Caterina Sullivan, RSVP outreach coordinator, 899-2443, csullivan@neon-norwalk.org.

Modeling from left to right (above) “Shayla Brayboy, Natalia Roman, Katerin Hernandez, students of Mr. Nelsons Class at Nathaniel Ely School.

Pen Yan Tan, RSVP Volunteer, of Kingsway Apartments puts finishing touches on a scarf she is knitting for children.

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RSVP Volunteers in Action
Wilton Volunteers, Mary Tanner, Hilda Brown and Alexandra Davatzes (right)attend the luncheon sponsored by the Liberation Program in appreciation of donations of handcrafted quilts to the program.

Mary Giunta helps at the Norwalk Central Library during the Norwalk Reads Book Distribution program.

Mary Malagisi and Doris Kling (right) assist at the East Norwalk Library with the Norwalk Reads Book Distribution Program.

Don Nelson and Dave Tracy hold the award of excellence presented to the Norwalk Tree Alliance at the Dedication of the Rosa Parks Arboretum.
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2006 Recognition Luncheon - May 11, 2006
Over 200 volunteers were honored at RSVP’s 32nd annual Recognition Luncheon held recently at Giovanni’s in Darien. This year over 32 thousand hours of service were donated to over 54 organizations in the community.

Mayor Richard Moccia presented a special award to Anna Young (RSVP Volunteer) recognizing her for over one thousand hours of service to the community this year. Anna was also responsible for obtaining the over one hundred prizes which were donated by local organizations and businesses and were raffled to deserving volunteers. Mayor Moccia also presented Certificates of appreciation to nine other volunteers for outstanding contributions of time and dedication this year.

Mayor Richard Moccia, Anna Young, Andrew Mais		Martha McDonald and Mayor Richard Moccia
Lizabeth Doty and Delphine Overby		Mayor Richard Moccia, Mary Malagasi, and Charlotte Malvicini

Delphine Overby, was honored for her over 30 years of service as Outreach Coordinator in Wilton by Lizabeth Doty , Senior Activities Coordinator for the Town of Wilton.

Thanks were expressed to the Corporation for National and Community Service, The City of Norwalk, The CT. Department of Social Services, The United Way of Norwalk and Wilton, The CT. Commission on Culture and Tourism, The Town of Wilton and Fitzpatrick Trust for providing funding. Also Recognized for their Support was Mr. Joseph Mann, Executive Director of Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now, and the NEON Board of Directors. NEON is the sponsoring agency for RSVP.

The awards luncheon was made possible with the help of The Calvary Baptist Church, St. Joseph’s Church. The New Canaan Nature Center, The Norwalk Community College Foundation, George Washington Carver Foundation, The Westport Woman’s Club and the Wilton Woman’s Club.

Chris Coogan, multi-talented jazz and gospel musician entertained the group with his unique renditions of popular requests.

Kathy Smith received the Voluntary Action Center of Mid Fairfield Award honoring volunteers of Norwalk, Westport, Weston and Wilton.  The award was presented Thursday, April 27 2006 at a ceremony at the Norfield Congregational Church (Weston) in recognition of her service to Norwalk Reads. This is a citywide program focused on improving literacy through the distribution of books and encouraging the love reading for the children of Norwalk.

Kathy Smith and Richard Moccia		Teri Klein, Kathy Smith and Sally Cordovano, Norwalk Reads Coordinator

She developed a relationship with the Weston Parent Teachers Organizations which has resulted in the donation of hundreds of new and gently used children’s books for distribution in Norwalk.

In addition, Kathy is currently piloting a new program modeling “shared effective reading” for preschoolers and their teachers at Norwalk School Readiness Programs across the city and is welcomed as “the story lady” by the children.

RSVP donations warm up Norwalk children!

Shykkem Harmon is all set for winter!

Deserving students at the Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now (NEON) Head Start Program are all ready for winter thanks to the more than 1,000 hats, mittens and scarves made by volunteers from the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). Wal-Mart Foundation, NEON Head Start and individuals donated the yarn.

Volunteers donate time in various locations, these include Kingsway Apartments (Norwalk), Ogden House (Wilton) and Marvin House (Norwalk); they knit in a group program at the Westport Woman’s Club and from their homes.

Esneyci Almonte, Madeline Pastrana (Assistant Teacher)  And Chrystal Ortiz		Mr. Ricardo Theodore’s class

Knitters Share Gift of Warmth
Norwalk Hour, January 4, 2006
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Edythe Ritchie and Jewel Broeze receive the 2005 Distinguished Advocates for Culture and Tourism Award

Edythie Ritchie & Jewel Broeze-Darien Welcome Center Volunteers Receive 2005 Distinguished Advocates for Culture and Tourism Award

The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism 2005 Distinguished Advocates for Culture and Tourism Award has been presented to RSVP Volunteers Jewel Broeze of Norwalk, CT and Edythe Ritchie of Fairfield, CT. The Distinguished Advocates Awards recognize the exemplary contributions of community volunteers in history and tourism in communities across the state.

Ms. Broeze and Ms. Ritchie have assisted hundreds of thousands of incoming visitors to Connecticut helping with personalized travel itineraries. They also mentor new volunteers interested in becoming a Connecticut Travel Counselor.

Ms. Broeze and Ms. Ritchie have served as volunteer travel counselors at the Darien Welcome Center since its inception in 1990. Ms. Broeze has contributed a total of 2,340 hours welcoming visitors and “I have loved every minute of it” she states. Ms. Ritchie has served a total of 7,020 hours, takes pride in her state and shares her enthusiasm with the people visiting the Welcome Center. “Tourism is the perfect place for me,” she states.