Editorial: RSVP would fit nicely in city facility

Talk about it

Speaking Monday night before the Worthington City Council, Joanne Bartosh gave a 30-minute summary of what RSVP of Southwest Minnesota is all about.

RSVP — Retired and Senior Volunteer Program — has been around this region since 1972, Bartosh explained, and there are about 1,900 volunteers in the six southwest Minnesota counties it serves. Considering the types of activities and programs the organization is involved with — it essentially keeps Pioneer Village open during its summer season, for one example, and also provides volunteers at such places as the Chamber of Commerce, Nobles County Integration Collaborative and Memorial Auditorium Performing Arts Center — it seems quite evident that folks participating with RSVp are important in our community.

Bartosh said she felt RSVP would fit well within a Worthington senior center that city leaders have continued to wrestle with in recent months. Council members agreed that RSVP would be a fine complement for a senior center comprised of numerous entities and organizations that serve our older population, and we couldn’t agree more.

If Worthington offered seniors a facility that provided significantly more opportunities than pool and cards, we’d like to believe it would be well used. And, should seniors walk into an organization like RSVP and decide they’d like to lend a helping hand as well, that’s a great thing for all of us.

Tags: news, rsvp