Words by Jenny Lynn Davis | Images by Al Blanton
For the volunteers involved in Walker County’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), service is measured in warm meals, hospital directions, handmade baby caps, friendly phone calls, food boxes, clothing donations, safety programs, and moments of care offered to people who may never know the full reach of the program behind them.
RSVP provides adults ages 55 and older with meaningful opportunities to stay active in their community through volunteer service. In Walker County, that mission continues to grow.
During a recent spring volunteer recognition event, RSVP celebrated the local volunteers who gave a combined 24,285 hours of service in 2025. According to figures shared by Walker County RSVP Coordinator Zan Brock, those hours carry an estimated economic impact of $877,678, based on the U.S. government’s volunteer-hour value of $36.14 per hour.
Brock, who works closely with the volunteers and community partners throughout the county, says the numbers are impressive, but the people behind them are what make the program meaningful.
The Walker County RSVP program currently includes approximately 150 volunteers. Participants must be at least 55 years old, but there is no upper age limit. The oldest current volunteer is 96 and will soon turn 97, with several others serving well into their 90s.
“The mission of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program is to provide a variety of opportunities for people age 55 and older to participate more fully in the life of the community through significant volunteer service,” Brock says.
Those opportunities look different from one volunteer to the next. Some RSVP volunteers serve at the hospital, greeting visitors, helping people find their way, working in the gift shop, or assisting in the surgery waiting area. Others support Baby Talk, a program based at the Jasper Area Family Services Center that also provides services through the hospital.
Some volunteers knit and crochet from home, making baby caps, baby blankets, chemo caps, and lap blankets. Chemo caps and lap blankets go to the local cancer center, and baby caps and blankets are donated to the Pregnancy Test and Resource Center in Jasper.
Other RSVP volunteers serve through food ministries and community outreach efforts, including the feeding program at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Jasper. There, volunteers help with breakfast, food pantry check-in, grocery distribution, and other needs. The church and RSVP volunteers also partner with Bundles of Hope, a diaper bank, allowing families to receive diapers along with food assistance.
Regina Allison, program director for RSVP, says the St. Mary’s program is one of the prime examples of the collaborative spirit she has seen in Walker County.
“What I love to see here is the collaboration,” Allison says. “Going over to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and seeing our RSVP volunteers there, you see all ages, religions and races.”
Allison recalls meeting a woman at the food pantry who had recently been laid off and had never before needed that kind of assistance.
“She left there not only with a full car, but with a full heart,” Allison says. “There was no judgment.”
That spirit of service extends across the county. RSVP volunteers also support the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, the Yellow Dot automobile safety program, Sunshine Seniors nursing home visits, Community Health Advisors, the Jasper Herb Society’s seed library and other local efforts.
A small church in Boldo is another example of the kind of impact RSVP helps support. Brock says the church, which has about 13 members, operates a clothing closet and an emergency food program. The original small clothing ministry has grown into an effort that receives about 50 large bags of donated clothing each month.
“It is just amazing what people can do,” Brock says, “and it makes people feel good about themselves when they volunteer.”
One of the program’s quieter but deeply important efforts is friendly visiting. Volunteers call and check on shut-ins, send greeting cards, and help people stay connected. In rural communities, those calls can make a significant difference.
Allison says RSVP has volunteers who make regular “warm calls” to people who may not have anyone else checking on them. In one recent example, when a person did not answer the phone, a welfare check revealed that the individual was ill and needed help getting to a doctor’s appointment but had been too sick to make the call.
That kind of service, Allison says, shows how important a simple connection can be.
RSVP is part of Positive Maturity, a Birmingham-based organization that works to enhance the lives of older adults through social service and civic engagement. Positive Maturity serves Jefferson, Walker, Blount, and Shelby counties through RSVP, with more than 700 volunteers across the four-county area. The program receives much of its funding from AmeriCorps Seniors, along with support from United Way.
While the program benefits the people and organizations receiving help, Brock said it also benefits the volunteers themselves. It gives older adults a way to remain active, connected, and engaged rather than becoming isolated.
“When you do something for somebody else, it makes you feel good too,” she says.
Brock notes that studies have shown older adults who volunteer are often physically healthier than those who do not, and they may experience less depression and fewer feelings of isolation. Volunteering also connects older adults with community resources they can use themselves or share with others.
The program’s reach may continue to expand in Walker County. Positive Maturity also operates the Foster Grandparent Program and the Senior Companion Program, and leaders hope to bring both programs to Walker County. Allison says there is also a need for more tutors, particularly as education is one of AmeriCorps’ focus areas.
As RSVP looks to the future, Allison says growth and sustainable community support will be important. She hopes to see broader local investment from community partners so the program can continue serving Walker County for years to come.
For now, the work continues through the hands and hearts of volunteers who choose to spend their time helping others.
“It has just been a real blessing for me to work here,” Brock says. “I have met some absolutely incredible people who do all kinds of wonderful things.” WL
To learn more about RSVP in Walker County, call 205-221-3760 or email zanb@positivematurity.org
