West Texas RSVP
Mobilizing Volunteers
Strengthening Communities
Texas Senior Corps
(12/12/2011) One of the most successful partnerships/collaborations for the Concho Valley RSVP this past year was the Texas Hunger Initiative - Kids Eat, a local summer feeding program for children. The Concho Valley RSVP is a collaborative partner for the local Kids Eat Initiative, a program of the Texas Hunger Initiative, which is a feeding program for youth in identified low income areas of San Angelo and Grape Creek. Coordinating the efforts of the Kids Eat Initiative (which began in 2010) are two RSVP volunteers. This year they were supported by three Summer VISTA volunteers, along with 85 other RSVP Volunteers. You can find more information at http://www.sanangelohunger.org/index.html and if you click on supporters you will see churches, businesses, nonprofits and others. the program went from feeding an average of 493 children per day in 2010 to 552 in 2011 and increased from 11 to 15 feeding sites. There is already expansions for next year including more sites and partners and 9 raised beds for a community garden on the Fort Concho grounds next to what used to be the hospital. This garden is on the same site as was the garden when the Fort was operational..."A Historic Garden on a Historic Site." Parents and children from the adjoining elementary school will be maintaining the garden, wiith some plantings occurring already this fall. Next year produce from the garden will actually be used for the Kids Eat Summer Feeding Program. Other additions are currently under discussion. In the August 3, 2011 Saturday paper there was a great article on how this collaboration has worked... "What has been accomplished by the Initiative requires more than the generosity of individual and family volunteers. Indeed, it calls for an array of community organizations representing businesses, churches, government, nonprofit agencies and schools to reach beyond mere cooperation to actual sharing of staff time and talent, facilities and other valuable resources. The Hunger Initiative teaches that action toward solving our most serious problems demands that institutions and agencies stretch past their immediate daily concerns to form and participate in coalitions that multiply capacities to act on shared community needs and interests." The full article link is http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/aug/31/solving-our-problems-together/.
Highlights are listed in chronological order.
West Texas RSVP
Director: Dolores Schwertner

San Angelo Office
618 S Chadbourne
San Angelo TX 76903
Tel: 325-223-6388
Fax: 325-655-6294
Email: dschwertner@wtrc.com
Web Address: www.westtexasrsvp.org
Serving Coke, Crockett, McCulloch, Menard,
Schleicher, Sutton, and Tom Green Counties

Abilene Office
4601 Hartford Street
Abilene TX 79605-4603
Tel: 325-793-3522
Fax: 325-793-5445
Email: dschwertner@wtrc.com
Web Address: www.westtexasrsvp.org
Serving Callahan, Jones, and Taylor Counties