An estimated 223 rsvp volunteers will serve in activities to include mentoring/tutoring, food collection distribution/support, information and referral for health related organizations, and…

An estimated 223 rsvp volunteers will serve in activities to include mentoring/tutoring, food collection distribution/support, information and referral for health related organizations, and promoting cultural/historical education. The primary focus area of this project is education. The following elementary schools participate with rsvp in the reading buddies program: W.C. Cameron-gladstone, rapid river-rapid river, lemmer-escanaba, and bark river-harris-harris. At the end of the three-year grant, participating students in grades k-2 will have improved academic performance in reading, spelling, and comprehension. Also in the education focus area is the gladstone indian education program. Rsvp was invited to participate in january of 2018. The mission of the program is to pass on native american culture and teaching the students to keep the traditions alive. This is primarily done through craft making and traditional native celebrations (food, drumming, dancing, etc) throughout the school year. IT is important to note that 91% of the students in the gladstone area schools are caucasian. This program provides an example of culturally aware instruction which promotes tolerance and understanding of both native and non-native cultures. In other focus areas, outcomes include: number of individuals receiving disaster assistance, number of individuals receiving emergency food from food banks/other organizations, number of miles or rivers treated to improving trails, and organizations reporting rsvp volunteers have helped to make their organizations more effective. The cncs federal investment of $74,468 will be supplemented by state dollars of $32,007 and a $18,653 in-kind contributions, which equals $50,660 for an amount above the required 30% match of non-federal resources.