NARSVPD
Visibility and Advocacy for RSVP
The purpose of NARSVPD is to provide visibility and advocacy for RSVP; a network of communications among RSVP Directors and projects; a vehicle for expression of majority opinion on behalf of RSVP and older Americans to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Congress and other appropriate government and national units.
2019-2020
NARSVPD OFFICERS AND DELEGATES
OFFICERS
President - Betty M Ruth, PO Box 852, Athens, AL 35612. Phone (256) 232-7207
Vice President - Vacant
Secretary - Denise Grace, 16117 Hwy 365 South, Little Rock, AR 72206. Phone (501) 897-0793
Treasurer - Tammy McGee, 217 Pierson St, Troy, AL 36081. Phone (334) 566-6158
Delegates
Michele Hull - 201 State Street, 4Fl, Boone, IA 50036. Phone (515) 433-7836
Carolyn Finley - 2PMB#573, 710 Hwy 51 BYP, Dyersburg, TN 38024. Phone (731) 286-7829
Krista Gilmore - 200 Chesapeake Blvd., Suite 2550. Elkton, MD 21921. Phone: (410) 996-8434
Teresa Judd - 210A Education Services Bldg., Morehead, KY 40351. Phone (606) 783-5124
Robert Pierson - 614 High Street, 2nd Fl., Dedham, MA 02026. Phone (781) 234-3445
Crystal Petry - 2210 Eastex Freeway, Beaumont, TX 77703. Phone (409) 899-8444
Grant Consultant
Melodye Kleinman - 1600 S Sawtell Bl, Ste. 330, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Phone (310) 351-0024
Washington DC Representative
Gene Sofer - eugensofer@gmail.com
ACTIVITIES
Making A Difference
NARSVPD BOARD IN ACTION
100's of hours for RSVP
VISITING THE HILL
Reminding Congress of who we are and what we do
OUR WASHINGTON DC REPRESENTATIVE
GENE SOFER
Educating Congress about RSVP
RSVP Program Highlights
Debbie Danitz, is the RSVP director for McHenry County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program since 1991. She’s been doing her “dream job for 28 years!” Three McHenry County Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) members, part of the Senior Corps have been a part of the National Service family since the beginning.
Here’s a little about three RSVP volunteers who along with many others have made an impact in McHenry County since 1993:
Don Blake of McHenry began his volunteer career with RSVP delivering meals to homebound seniors in the McHenry area, he also volunteered at the FISH Food Pantry for many years, and most recently gives his time as a Friendly Visitor. He has reported 2,000 hours as a volunteer to date.
Ron Gebhard of Island Lake is an active RSVP volunteer! Ron’s current assignment is a Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) Counselor at Northwestern Community Hospital in McHenry and he’s had this assignment for over 10 years. In addition to this assignment Ron was a Tax Aide through the AARP Program. To date Ron has reported an amazing 19,000 hours as an RSVP volunteer.
Lastly, 96 year old RSVP member Terese Pisaro of Wauconda has been with us since the beginning and has reported an astounding 15,000 hours to date. She continues to give her time at the Sparrow’s Nest Resale Shop, in McHenry which raises funds for Home of the Sparrow. The agency’s vision is as follows “To reduce homelessness among women and children through creative strategies and community partnerships, resulting in lasting self-sufficiency.”
Update from our Washingting Representative, Gene Sofer
Washington Update
May 2023
By this time, you probably have read about the proposed House Republican plan to address the debt limit which must be raised to allow the government to continue to spend and to limit spending in the future by imposing caps on federal appropriations. Substantively, these are two separate issues that are being conflated by House Republicans and in most press accounts. They are separable but the House Republican plan is essentially using the threat of a default on the debt limit to force negotiations on the future direction of federal spending.
In its broad outlines the House Republican proposal would raise the debt limit, exempt Social Security and Medicare and Defense spending from cuts, roll back non-defense discretionary spending to FY 2022 levels, and cap future non-defense discretionary spending at 1 percent per year. Experts have estimated that the impact of these cuts on non-defense discretionary programs like National Service would result in a 22 percent cut if it was applied equally across all programs.
As long as these two issues are linked, there is urgency. The Treasury Department is now estimating that the government may be unable to pay all its bills as early as June 1, although that is an estimate rather than a deadline. The result would be a shutdown of most of the federal government.
Yesterday, May 10, President Biden met with House and Senate leaders from both parties to discuss both issues. No agreements were reached, but the parties will meet again this week and the principals have instructed staff to meet.
The House Republican bill is essentially a framework with details to be provided later. It sets an overall cap on spending, but it is up to the Appropriations Committees to actually allocate dollars within the cap. Appropriators are extremely unlikely to apply cuts across the board. Rather, their bills will include increases for some programs and deeper cuts and program eliminations for others. Given the hostility that many House Republicans have for All National Service programs, it is not an exaggeration to suggest that they are at risk of being eliminated by House Republican Appropriators as they try to construct bills that can pass.
House Appropriators are planning to start writing their FY24 bills this month, with consideration of the Labor-HHS bill that includes funding for AmeriCorps to take place in June.
The Senate Appropriations process will move more slowly. The Senate version of the Labor-HHS bill will probably be taken up in late June or July.
While the debt ceiling issue needs to be resolved soon to keep the government open, the Appropriations process will move more slowly and will not be resolved until much later this year.
