January 17, 2025

Senior finds ‘win-win situation all the way around’ volunteering through RSVP

John Kordes, a member of St. Christopher Parish in Indianapolis, enjoys volunteering to help alleviate hunger in his local community—in this case, filling bags with tomatoes at Gleaners Food Bank in Indianapolis on Jan. 2. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

John Kordes, a member of St. Christopher Parish in Indianapolis, enjoys volunteering to help alleviate hunger in his local community—in this case, filling bags with tomatoes at Gleaners Food Bank in Indianapolis on Jan. 2. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

By Natalie Hoefer

Growing up on a farm in southern Indiana, John Kordes, 78, learned values that still drive him today.

“People in farming communities help each other,” he says. “When you’re raised in that environment, helping somebody else is not an exception, it’s an expectation.”

So, when he retired at age 74, the member of St. Christopher Parish in Indianapolis knew he wanted “to do something constructive to help others.

“But then I thought, ‘What am I going to do? I know all these different organizations need help, but who do I call and where do I go?’ I think figuring all that out is the hard part for seniors who want to volunteer.”

Kordes decided to start with the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities. He called its Indianapolis office and asked if there was anyone he could speak with about volunteering.

“They said, ‘We have just the person—that’s exactly what she does,’ ” he recalls. “And that’s how I got involved in RSVP.”

RSVP—Retired and Senior Volunteer Program—is a program of AmeriCorps Seniors, a federal agency for service and volunteerism for those age 55 and older.

Agencies offer the program throughout the country, including in New Albany and Terre Haute. Catholic Charities Indianapolis (CCI) coordinates RSVP for Hamilton, Hendricks and Marion counties.

“Think of it as a volunteer clearinghouse for those 55-plus,” says Monica Woodsworth, director of the Indianapolis-based RSVP office.

Through the program, Kordes has volunteered for food banks, CCI’s Holy Family Shelter and Christmas Store, and more.

“It’s that rewarding feeling of happiness you get from volunteering,” he says. “You get more than you give.”

‘Volunteering has flexibility’

That last statement is true on several levels, says Woodsworth.

“Research tells us that volunteering has mental and physical benefits, including lower rates of depression and anxiety, lower mortality rates,” she explains. “It increases physical movement and opportunities for learning new skills, and it creates and expands social networks.”

At a time in life when retirement, children moving out of the home or the loss of a loved one can lead to loneliness or a feeling of being lost, volunteering “can provide a sense of purpose,” Woodsworth says.

Such purpose is what Kordes was seeking when he was put in touch with her. After an introductory meeting, he filled out registration and background check forms.

“Then she looks at your application, your strengths, what you like,” says Kordes. “And then she says, ‘I’ve got these things here that look like they really fit your interests.’ She puts the pieces of the puzzle together.”

The resulting picture can vary greatly, depending on the volunteer.

“There are one-time and ongoing opportunities, and volunteers can serve from home or in the community” for as little or as much time as desired, says Woodsworth. “We want people to know that volunteering has flexibility—there is likely something that will fit your schedule and physical needs without overwhelming you.”

If a person comes to realize their choice is not the right fit, “volunteers have our support finding something else,” she adds. “We do whatever makes the volunteer most comfortable. Our goal is to have volunteers excited about their volunteer time.”

While the organizations seeking volunteers through RSVP vary, Woodsworth notes that many of them “focus on addressing food insecurity and supporting older adult independence.” Exposure to those needing such help can “increase your knowledge about social issues in your community while you work to address those issues. Stronger communities benefit all of us.”

‘It’s a beautiful thing for everyone’

Those remarks ring true for Kordes, who, through RSVP, volunteered for a few months helping drive seniors to medical appointments.

“You get an idea of the different needs and challenges that are out there in the community,” he says. “Then seeing how blessed you are by not having those struggles keeps you humble, it really does.”

One such struggle is hunger. Even before retiring, Kordes helped with St. Christopher’s food pantry. Through RSVP, he found himself called to volunteer at Gleaners Food Bank in Indianapolis.

“There’s such a severe need” when it comes to hunger, he says, citing a statistic from a 2022 Feeding Indiana’s Hungry report that one in five Hoosier children are food insecure. “I decided I’m going to make helping the hungry my thing.”

That “thing” has become a passion for Kordes, who volunteers weekly at Gleaners while still helping at

St. Christopher’s food pantry. And through a partnership between the parish pantry and Midwest Food Bank in Indianapolis, he volunteers for that food bank as well.

“About a year, year-and-a-half ago, I started thinking, ‘Well, other people need help, too,’ ” says Kordes. Through RSVP, he began volunteering at Catholic Charities’ Holy Family Shelter in Indianapolis.

Even there he discovered ways to help better feed those living at the shelter.

“At the time, [the shelter was] only getting food from Midwest Food Bank,” says Kordes. “I hooked them up with the people down there at Gleaners. It’s beautiful, because [Holy Family is] now able to utilize them to get the majority of their food, and they can now use Midwest [Food Bank] to subsidize the rest of it.

“And now when [Holy Family] gets food donations from other places beyond what they need, they give the extra to St. Christopher’s food pantry. It’s a beautiful thing for everyone.”

‘A win-win situation’

Kordes also considers the benefits of volunteering a “beautiful thing.”

“It makes you feel happy when you’re giving help, that rush of joy that you get inside when you feel like you’ve actually done something positive for someone else that made a difference in their life,” he says.

“But volunteering is also good physically and psychologically. Engaging with others is good for a person’s mental health. So many people who are retired have problems with depression and loneliness that’ll be taken care of by volunteering. These places I volunteer, they’ve become like family.

“I’ve found it to be a win-win situation all the way around.”
 

(For more information about RSVP of Hamilton, Hendricks and Marion Counties, contact Monica Woodsworth at 317-261-3378 or mwoodsworth@archindy.org. Other agencies offering RSVP in central and southern Indiana are Western Indiana Community Action Agency Inc. for Putnam and Vigo counties, 812-232-1264, ext. 6221, dfullhart@wicaa.org; and Hope Southern Indiana Inc. for Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Jefferson and Scott counties, 812-948-1815, rsvp@hopesi.org. Numerous volunteer opportunities are also available with Catholic Charities in Indianapolis, New Albany, Tell City and Terre Haute—go to archindy.org/cc for contact information—as well as through parishes, St. Vincent de Paul conferences, pregnancy care centers and other Catholic agencies throughout the archdiocese.)

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