For almost 25 years, the Hernando County School Board has generously provided most of the funding for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, an organization of about 700 people who donate their time at schools, hospitals programs and a variety of other institutions, including county government.
With the exception of a $55,459 federal grant, the school district has paid $23,000 of the annual operating cost of $94,000. The school district also absorbs RSVP's overhead costs by providing office space, utilities and supplies. Yet, only about 40 percent of the organization's volunteers are assigned to assist the school district.
Enrichment centers sponsored by both area hospitals, which coordinate the meals-on-wheels programs, as well as the Daystar Hope Center, are the other prime beneficiaries of RSVP's work force.
For several years, the school district pleaded with the Hernando County Commission to pay a greater - and fairer - share of RSVP's bills. The commission did increase its contribution, but it still subsidizes RSVP by only $8,000 a year. The only other source of funding for the RSVP is an annual endowment from the United Way of Hernando County, also for $8,000.
It is regrettable, but completely understandable, that the school district is pulling the plug on RSVP's funding. It has done far more than its share by funding the volunteer group for so long. School Board members and superintendents for the past two decades deserve the community's thanks for recognizing the importance of RSVP and assuming that financial responsibility when other organizations would not.
RSVP officials and the school district are now looking for a new sponsor. Mid-Florida Community Services, which runs the RSVP in Sumter and Lake counties, is a prime candidate. If that pans out, RSVP's two employees likely would move into Mid-Florida's office at the old Moton High School site on School Street in Brooksville.
RSVP provides a valuable service to thousands of people who are served by the volunteers each year. In addition, the program gives the 700-plus 55-and-older seniors a sense of purpose and accomplishment that rounds out their retirement. On a more tangible level, the tasks performed by the volunteers save payroll costs for the School Board, the County Commission and all the groups using RSVP's services.
If Mid-Florida Community Services cannot accept sponsorship of the RSVP, then the County Commission should explore the possibility of taking it on, or at least acting as a co-sponsor. The School Board endured that burden for the commission long enough; now it is time for the commission to carry the load.
RSVP is too important to let it fall by the wayside because of funding squabbles. For the modest investment, the return to the community is enormous.
