50+ Lifestyles

Giving Tuesday” and “Holiday Mail for Heroes

By RSVP Staff
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Eastern Iowa and Western Illnois

You’ve probably heard of “Black Friday,” the first shopping day after Thanksgiving. Maybe you’ve even heard of “Cyber Monday” for online shoppers, but have you heard of “Giving Tuesday”? “Giving Tuesday” occurs the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is a day during which individuals and organizations perform some activity which benefits the community. Some organizations collect food or toys for people in need, raise funds to cure and treat diseases, organize blood drives, and support a wide variety of non-profits. The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois (RSVP) got involved in “Giving Tuesday” this year via “Holiday Mail for Heroes,” a program sponsored by the American Red Cross. “Holiday Mail for Heroes” provides a hand-written greeting card to individuals serving or retired from the military, those being healed in hospitals, and military family members.

In honor of “Giving Tuesday,” RSVP organized three separate card-writing gatherings—in Davenport, Galesburg, and Monmouth– where folks could stop by, write a note on holiday cards, enjoy cookies, and listen to music. RSVP members and community groups wrote almost 1700 handwritten cards whose messages will bring comfort and joy to our military heroes!

While this is an impressive number of cards, RSVP could not have done this alone. Residents at Edgewater on Third in Davenport, led by RSVP volunteer Suzy Hartung, wrote nearly half the cards in advance. Likewise residents at Kensington Assisted Living in Galesburg also wrote great number of cards in advance of the event. The American Legion Auxiliary in Henderson County and Galesburg middle school students also created many cards.

The impressive results* of our “Holiday Mail for Heroes” event represent the way that RSVP continues to be a force for good in our community. While we coordinate and connect volunteers with agencies, we cannot work solo. We encourage and celebrate the energy of organizations like schools, assisted living facilities, and civic groups.

“Giving Tuesday” is one of several “Days of Service” events which RSVP coordinates and partners with community groups on.  Our next “Day of Service” is Martin Luther King Day January 19th. We will be partnering with several agencies to develop a soup-and-cracker drive for food pantries. This will run from Jan. 19th through Feb. 1st.  That food drive is aptly named “Souper Bowl of Caring”. Several other RSVP’s in Iowa and Illinois will also be participating.

“Days of Service” are examples of how RSVP, as a National Service program, leverages Federal resources to address vital community needs by developing meaningful volunteer opportunities. We continually seek to find the “perfect” opportunity for each of our individual RSVP members. If you would like to get involved in volunteering, call us at 309-793-4425 or email us at rsvp@wiaaa.org. You can also see pictures of our “Holiday Mail for Heroes” events and find out about other volunteer opportunities by finding our Facebook page, “RSVP of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois.”

* When she picked up our cards, Emily Richards, Regional Director, Service to Armed Forces and International Services for the American Red Cross, said that our group wrote the largest number of cards of any group giving cards in the region!