Legislator Wolfe Requests Congress to Continue Adequate Funding to Senior Volunteer Programs in 2012 Budget

New City, NY (June 2, 2011) – Rockland County Legislator Alden H. Wolfe, Vice Chairman of the Legislature, has introduced a resolution calling upon leaders of Congress and its Appropriation Committees to support President Obama’s request to include adequate funding in the 2012 Federal budget for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), an independent federal agency created to connect Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and nation. On the local level, the CNCS provides funding through its Senior Corps program to the RCC-sponsored Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), a program that recruits volunteers 55 and older to lend their time, expertise and goodwill to non-profit agencies and nursing homes.  The U.S. House of Representatives recently eliminated $1.4 billion in funds for programs that encourage people to serve in their communities.

Gerri Zabusky, Director of the Spring Valley-based RSVP program, said the program utilizes the valuable skills and knowledge of the senior generation to provide volunteer services to young and old, alike.  “Our volunteers mentor and tutor children, teach English to immigrants, participate in environmental projects and provide companionship and services to frail or disabled elderly individuals who are homebound or in nursing homes.   A funding cut of this magnitude would force us to reduce our volunteer force and to cut or eliminate programs.”

Vice Chairman Wolfe, who is the Legislature’s liaison to RSVP added, “Senior Corps volunteers save millions of federal government dollars per year, nationwide.  The value of a senior volunteer’s hours goes well beyond the economic factor - in the knowledge and the life experience they have to share and the opportunity for them to continue to be active and to give back to their community in ways that can have profound, long-term impact on society.  I imagine that cutting funds on this end would only result in the need to increase funding on the other end for social services, teen and early learning programs.” 

The funding cut would also affect other CNCS-sponsored programs such as Americorps, VISTA, Habitat for Humanity, and Teach for America.