RSVP is the only national body that provides volunteering opportunities for the over-50s
RSVP is the only national body that provides volunteering opportunities for the over-50s
ABOUT US
Contact details
RSVP West Region, The CREATE Centre, Smeaton Road, Bristol, BS1 6XN.
Telephone: 0117 922 4392 or 0117 925 0505. E-mail us.
Our area
RSVP West covers Bristol, North Somerset, Gloucestershire, Bath & North East Somerset, and Swindon & north-west Wiltshire.
Management structure
RSVP West employs no paid staff. Every member is a volunteer, including those on its Management Group. The Group is led by the Regional Coordinator and is made up of the organisers who coordinate the work of the members who deliver front-line services. Some organisers work within a geographical area, others within subject areas such as schools, and yet others run individual projects. The Region is always in need of extra area, subject and project organisers.
The Management Group in serious session
Our HQ
RSVP West Region is based in space rented from Bristol City Council at the CREATE Centre. This was built at the Cumberland Basin in 1908 as a bonded warehouse for storing tobacco. It was converted in 1994 in part into a centre designed to promote environmental awareness and houses many voluntary organisations. The RSVP West office has computer, copier and other facilities for use by all RSVP members.
The CREATE Centre, home of RSVP West
Office volunteers
Volunteers in the field are the front line of our work. They're supported behind the scenes by many others who keep the Region running smoothly. Among other tasks, they supply health and safety advice, keep the accounts, manage membership records, coordinate regional Criminal Records Bureau applications, and maintain this website. These support services offer excellent volunteering opportunities and we’re always looking for additional help in the office. Please contact us if you would like to discuss the possibilities.
The legal stuff
Nationally, RSVP is a project of Community Service Volunteers (CSV), a company limited by guarantee and registered in England (No 1435877), and a registered charity (No 291222). Locally, RSVP West is supported by the Friends of RSVP West Region, a local registered charity (No 1108785), which likewise has no salaried staff — everyone is a volunteer, including the trustees and management committee.
© 2003–12 RSVP West. Page last updated on 17 January 2012.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
• A unique opportunity has arisen to run the tea bar at Yate magistrates court.
• Volunteers are needed now to expand the care-homes project.
• More organisers are required throughout the region, especially for schools’ and GP surgeries’ schemes.
• Would you like to become a volunteer driver? They’re wanted in Nailsea and Westbury-on-Trym.
• We need schools helpers in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath & North-East Somerset.
NEWS
13 Dec: The December 2011 issue of our newsletter, West Waffle, has been published.
6 Dec: The Bristol care-homes project pilot has ended and we are developing the scheme more widely.
15 Nov: Swindon older people get a louder voice. We have been at the heart of the establishment of an Older People’s Forum and will fund its development over the next 12 months.
11 Nov: The Blagdon Helpline in North Somerset has become affiliated with RSVP West.