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KARSP - For the
Greater Good
By Lynda
Wheeler, KARSP Community Service
The State of Kansas is indeed lucky to have Kansas
Association of Retired School Personnel and its
generous members. These members are crucial to the
greater good of our citizens. You can find us in
churches, at church camps, libraries, hospitals,
schools, assisted living and care homes, senior
centers, food pantries, historical societies,
museums, art councils, colleges, fine arts
activities, service organizations, lobbying and
taking political action, prisons, at domestic
violence centers, soup kitchens & food banks, and in
foreign and domestic mission fields, donating huge
amounts of volunteer time.
Our people volunteer in a wide range of civic and
humanitarian organizations. Examples of the places
we give time and effort are: Youth for Christ,
Children's Christian Concern Society, Salvation
Army, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, Boy
Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, Helping International
Students organization, Red Cross, Relay for Life,
Cancer Society, Arthritis Society, Heartland Kidney
Network, Heart of American Hospice, American Legion,
Lions Club, Kiwanis, Sertoma, Altrusa, AARP/NRTA,
Head Start, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Reading is
fundamental, Masonic Lodge, Harvey Girls Re-enactors
Guild, Pioneer Camp, Senior Centers, RSVP, Kanza
Prairie and other nature stewardship sites.
Some things KARSP and local unit members were
involved in this year are: distributing thousands of
dollars of scholarship money to students, working at
helping rebuild New Orleans, Osawatomie, and
Greensberg, working with seniors on tax preparation,
looking after the spiritual needs of our young
people, having fund-raising musical benefits and
golf tournaments, ringing bells at Christmas,
providing Christmas gifts for needy families,
assisting in children's fishing tournaments,
collecting box-tops and soup labels for schools,
collecting toothbrushes, hats and mittens to
distribute to kids, providing animal shelters with
supplies, donating stuffed animals for children at
crisis centers, giving blood, making hand-made cards
to send to shut-ins, helping with funeral
arrangements, helping students prepare for getting a
GED, home guards for military funerals, knitting
afghans for cancer patients, lobbying legislators
for healthcare and a COLA, making wooden dolls
cradles and horses for Christmas gifts for needy
children, recording printed material for blind and
sight-impaired at Audio-Reader, helping with senior
and youth spelling bees, teaching line dancing at
senior centers to facilitate movement, tutoring
foreign students in English, volunteering as a
classroom substitute, assembling book bags with
school supplies, giving blood, cleaning cemetery
grounds, building or remodeling playgrounds or parks
for kids, taking treats or gifts to teachers still
working in the field, helping with things like
living history lessons and reenacting The Harvey
Girls, or the River City Reading Festival in
Lawrence.
And as if that weren’t enough. Many of our awesome
volunteers continue to give of themselves through
personal hardships, family and health issues.
Volunteering makes us feel connected to our
community, helps us stay active and alert, and
provides a sense of accomplishment. According to a
huge body of research - the volunteer gets health
and longevity benefits as well. That makes for a
win-win proposition for everyone.
From the Awards & Recognition booklet distributed at
the state convention. L.Wheeler, KARSP Community
Service- June 2008
Kansas Association of Retired School Personnel
515 Kansas Ave., Ste 201.
Topeka, KS 66603-3415
Phone: 785-232-8788
K.A.R.S.P@hotmail.com
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