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Serving Denver,
Douglas & western Arapahoe counties |
Erin Kruse
Project Manager
ekruse@voacolorado.org
Erin Kruse is a Phoenix native who grew up camping and hiking with
her family and developed a deep appreciation for both the desert and
the mountains. As an adult she has had the opportunity to live in
Mexico, Chile, California, Illinois, Florida and North Carolina
before moving to Colorado. Before coming to RSVP, Erin worked for
Caterpillar Inc. in both marketing and logistics. She traveled
throughout Latin America and the U.S. working with Caterpillar
dealers in the construction equipment market, but the most fun part
of the job was operating equipment of all shapes and sizes. She has
also worked for Club Med and the Arizona Diamondbacks. She has been
with RSVP since early 2005 when she began working as a Program
Coordinator. Erin is now the Project Manager for RSVP of the
Volunteers of America. These days she spends a lot of time exploring
Colorado with her husband and dog through hiking, rock climbing and
skiing. She just finished her first sprint triathlon and is excited
about exploring this new sport.
Corrine Schilling
Program Coordinator
cschilling@voacolorado.org
Corrine was born in South Dakota but has lived most of her life in
the Denver area and graduated from West High school. She has taken
several classes at Red Rocks Community College, mostly in the area
of Social Work. She worked for 20 years in Long Term Care facilities
as Activity Director, Social Work aide and Volunteer Coordinator.
She has also worked as an Activity Consultant to many facilities. In
1986 Corrine started working at Volunteers of America in the
Nutrition Division as a Dining Center Coordinator and supervised
volunteers at the 5 Jefferson County Dining Centers. She also worked
with Meals on Wheels during that time. In 2001 she moved into the
Volunteer Services Division of VOA and RSVP, still working with
seniors and volunteers. Her other interests are her family (7
grand-children) and her Church family.
Jan Muñoz
Program Coordinator
jmunoz@voacolorado.org
Jan Muñoz, RSVP Coordinator, was born and raised in Anamosa, Iowa.
Besides Iowa, she has lived in Wisconsin, California, and Colorado.
Jan taught for twenty years before going into nonprofit work. She
was Program Coordinator at Donor Awareness Council for three years,
took a break, and then came to VOA’s RSVP in October, 2005. She’s
happy she came aboard! Jan enjoys baking goodies, taking walks with
her husband around the neighborhood, and playing tennis in her spare
time.
Nora Simmons
AmeriCorps VISTA
nsimmons@voacolorado.org
Nora Simmons is an AmeriCorps Vista member who is working on program
development and volunteer management at RSVP for one year. Since
returning to Denver from Portland, Oregon where she earned a
Bachelor of Arts in English, Nora has been pursuing an interest in
government and social services. She is thrilled to be back in Denver
where the sun shines year round and the mountains are a stone’s
throw away. Nora loves backpacking with family and friends and says
she can’t wait to hike the San Juan Mountains again.
Jan Hayes
Administrative Asst.
jhayes@voacolorado.org
Jan came to RSVP via the JeffCo Senior Resource Center, Senior
Community Service Employment Program. Her son and grandson are the
reasons that she came to Denver. Jan was born and lived most of her
life in Michigan; although, when you talk to her you might notice a
bit of a Southern accent because both of her parents were from
Tennessee. She attended Lansing Community College in Michigan for
two associate degrees: Records and Information Management and
Administrative Assistant. Her personal interests are interior
design, sewing, flower arranging, walking, and water exercise.
Mary Lester
Lead Volunteer
Mary is a native Denverite and has been involved as a Community
Volunteer for 30 years.
She is a former teacher in Denver Public Schools as well as a part
time teacher in a private school. These experiences have fueled her
interest in RSVP. Mary became involved with RSVP 6 years ago as the
Lead Volunteer for a federally funded program called America Reads
aimed at children grades K-3. She has continued as a Lead Volunteer
for RSVP coordinating the Volunteers in Education Project as well as
Project Warmth, providing yarn and picking up beautifully knitted
and crocheted items from our volunteers and delivering them to
various agencies in need of cozy afghans, hats, gloves, and scarves.
She continues to be involved with other community programs such as
Families First as a Support Line Volunteer. Mary enjoys time spent
with a Book Club, biking, skiing, and traveling.
Dolores Cuthbertson
Volunteer Assistant
Dolores was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and received her
education from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.
After completing her education, she taught seventh and eighth grade
students in a small town in northern Illinois for four years before
marrying her husband in Chicago and relocating to Denver a year
later. Dolores and her husband raised five sons and four daughters
who have given her eleven lovely grandchildren in return. She and
her late husband were active in Church sponsored organizations for
many years as well as other agencies and organizations, including
the Red Cross, East Denver YMCA, National Jewish Hospital, Denver
Public Schools and the Girl Scouts. Dolores found RSVP twelve years
ago and has been a dedicated volunteer managing RSVP’s Special
Projects. She is an avid reader as well as being “totally hooked on
Sudoku.” In addition to movies, Dolores enjoys music and dance
performances in both Colorado and New Mexico. |
National
RSVP was an outgrowth of efforts by private groups and government
agencies to create opportunities for engagement, activity,
acquaintanceship, and growth for older Americans. One of the
earliest programs was the Community Service Society of New York,
launched as a pilot project in 1965 on Staten Island. The project
involved a small group of volunteers who were dedicated to serving
their communities in a variety of ways. The success of their efforts
led to an amendment to the Older Americans Act, creating RSVP as a
nationwide program in 1969.
In 1973 the eligibility age for RSVP volunteers was lowered from 60
to 55 years old and expanded eligibility to include older volunteers
still in the work force. Today, more than 500,000 Americans
participate in RSVP, making it one of the largest volunteer efforts
in the nation.
RSVP programs have evolved to become a global model for confronting
some of the most serious obstacles facing American communities. Yet,
RSVP programs are not the only thing that has evolved over 30 years
of national service. The definition of “retirement” and “senior” is
changing every day. As new generations begin to phase out of their
day-to-day careers, there is a growing force of energetic, highly
skilled citizens who possess the drive and creativity to make real
and lasting changes in their communities. This is not a “rocking
chair” generation of volunteers, but a group of highly educated,
motivated people who know what changes they want to see in their
world and possess the talents and initiative to make that change a
reality. RSVP is proud to be able to face the future along side our
remarkable volunteers. Every day dynamic new roles are being created
for citizens 55 years old and better to continue to use their
talents to serve their communities while absorbing the personal
satisfaction of knowing that their significant efforts are valued.
Local
The Denver chapter of RSVP supports close to 1000 volunteers who
contribute their time and energy to over 80 agencies in Denver,
Douglas, and western Arapahoe counties. The Volunteers of America
Colorado Branch has sponsored the Denver chapter of RSVP since 1981.
During the last 25 years RSVP has:
• Expanded its service area from Denver county to include
Douglas and
western Arapahoe counties
• Helped to create volunteer opportunities that are more
sophisticated
and which better utilize the skills and interests
of volunteers
• Created volunteer opportunities with more flexibility for
those whose work
and family commitments do not permit set
schedules
• Worked to expand our own programs to offer important
services to our
community using the highest quality volunteers
around – RSVP volunteers!
The myriad of skills our volunteers share with Denver
Metro communities has grown during the past quarter century. Today’s
volunteers serve as health professionals, educators, mentors, and
consultants. We hold to our original motto: People Helping People,
but we look to a future that expands that idea so we may continue to
grow to help our communities in ways that best fit their needs. With
the energy and experience of our current volunteers and the newest
wave of older Americans from the baby boomer generation joining us,
we see the ability to expand our reach farther than ever before.
RSVP volunteers provide the Denver Metro Area with an example of the
best in our state’s spirit of volunteering. We will show all our
fellow Coloradans that, irrespective of age, there is much one can
contribute to their community. Our future has never looked brighter
or more promising.
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