RSVP - East Central Minnesota (Mora, MN)

Location:  105 South Union Street, Mora, Minnesota  55051
Days/Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Counties served: Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, and Pine

Participants are: Persons age 55 or older

Contact: Monique Mendyke, Associate Director
Program Phone: 1-320-679-1080
Email: mmendyke@voamn.org

Volunteers of America of Minnesota sponsors RSVP, which identifies volunteer opportunities for its members, who are age 55 and over, that meet their individual skills, interests, schedule and geographic availability.  In addition to RSVP member benefits, members see their involvement as an investment in themselves, the future, their community and the causes they feel passionate about.    There is a broad range of areas where individuals can make a difference, including improving literacy, hunger reduction and the environment.    RSVP can provide the tools, resources and connections for you to make an investment in yourself and your community.  Contact us today to explore your options by calling 320-679-1080.

Literacy: Teachers and children in our schools face an increasing number of obstacles to achieving success.  You can have the impact of helping children with the attention and support they need in order to learn allows them to develop the confidence and skills to succeed in school and in life.  Research has shown that our literacy programs boost student academic performance, help schools become more successful, strengthen ties between these institutions and surrounding communities, and enhance the well-being of the volunteers in the process.    Hunger Reduction:    The number of people seeking emergency food assistance is rising.  In Minnesota, 380 thousand people are food insecure, hungry or at risk of hunger and more than 1.5 million people visit a food shelf in a year.  Almost 45 percent of those who benefit from food shelves are children.  An estimated 1 in 10 children in Minnesota live in poverty.  Two out of five seniors will fall below the poverty line at some point between the ages of 60 and 90.  Of the 87 thousand Minnesota seniors that qualify for assistance through the Commodity Food Program, only 14 thousand can receive assistance because of funding limits.  Even mild nutritional deprivation in children can impede cognitive development and impair their capacities over a lifetime.  For older adults, the nearly 1 out of 3 that are at high risk for malnutrition face possible heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and osteoporosis.   Environment:    Numerous threats to the health of our environment include toxic run offs, pesticides, non-native invasive species and litter.  Many of our lakes can no longer support edible fish, let alone drinkable water.  And yet there is good news — we have the power to reverse the damage!  Numerous opportunities to impact environmental change exist.    For the past five years, volunteers in the East Central Minnesota RSVP Program have helped with the spring seed project at Lakes and Pines in Mora.  This year was a record year for seed distribution.  This season 386 families received seeds that were individually packaged from bulk seeds by the volunteers.  The packaged seeds were then distributed at food shelves and extension offices.  They included corn, green beans, squash, spinach, pumpkins, cucumbers and lettuce.