A long time ago, a wise and older woman said to me, “The best way to help yourself is to help someone else. The joy that comes from focusing on the needs of others can make your own needs and troubles seem much less important.”

She was right. Becoming a volunteer just takes a little time and a big heart. The effort makes a difference in the lives of everyone involved.

So goes the philosophy of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, under new stewardship of the University of Maine Center on Aging.

“We want to have a core group of volunteers who are ready and excited to meet the needs of the community,” said Jane Harris Bartley, director of RSVP. “We’ll identify the community needs and match our volunteers to them. We are eager to hear from people who want to volunteer, as well as those who need volunteers.”

There are only two requirements to becoming a volunteer for RSVP. You must be 55 or older and have a desire to help your neighbors in need. The number of hours spent volunteering depends on the individual, and can be anywhere from two to 40 hours per week.

While RSVP plans to continue providing volunteer support to programs such as meal delivery for seniors, transportation and children’s readings, among others, a new goal is to incorporate other types of activities.

In fact, some of the more than 600 RSVP volunteers are almost everywhere you are, from schools and libraries to hospitals and museums. The opportunities are endless and will continue as long as the community’s needs continue.

Some of the new directions for RSVP include working with the Red Cross on disaster relief, with TRIAD and law enforcement on elder security and fraud prevention programs, and with colleges on career coaching in a mentoring program that would pair first-year students with professionals.

There also will be opportunities for volunteers to provide educational training to children and others on topics such as good nutrition, and public health and safety.

“There’s an excitement about this because it is intergenerational, and the new programs will complement the old,” Bartley added. “RSVP will be collaborating with other entities to help these programs reach fruition.”

Working with other nonprofits, schools, colleges and health care facilities can help prevent the duplication of services, she said.

“Most of the agencies are working independently, and we want to create bridges and work together,” she added. “We want to connect the dots, for example, asking, ‘Who else has the goal of helping children with reading?’ We want to partner with those agencies so that we can achieve that goal. It is a win-win situation for all of us as long as we work together.”

There is no fee to become a RSVP volunteer, but there sure are benefits. For example, you’ll receive volunteer placement, supplemental accident and liability insurance, a chance to use your skills, the opportunity to learn something new, and best of all, the knowledge that you are making a difference in someone’s life.

“We want to provide meaningful volunteer opportunities and help make the community a better place to live,” said Paula Burnett, program coordinator for RSVP. “By working with other agencies and businesses, and addressing the needs in the area, when it’s put all together we can say, ‘Wow, look at what we’ve got as a community.'”

For more information on RSVP, call Jane Harris Bartley at 581-4418, or Paula Burnett at 581-4412.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on EAA programs or services, call the resource and referral department at 941-2865 or log on www.eaaa.org.