OlyCAP’s 268 volunteers in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program worked 47,900 hours in the past year. “Wednesdays are my favorite days,” said Tracy Speer, who volunteers at the Quilcene Food Bank, which serves the community each Wednesday. Speer is one of the many volunteers in RSVP who provides food for communities through the three Jefferson County food banks. In 2018, 200 of the volunteers served at food banks in the county for a total of 33,392 hours. On March 14, OlyCAP honored its senior and retired volunteers, for their hard work over the past year at a banquet at the Tri-Area Community Center, where volunteers from around the county came together to talk about the work they do. “You are an essential piece,” said Jane Covella, the RSVP program manager. “Without you, things don’t work as well.” RSVP is part of the Senior Corps, a national program similar to AmeriCorps, that was created in 1965 to ensure that the skills and knowledge of people over 55 are shared with the community. In Jefferson and Clallam counties, the group of 268 volunteers helps at local project sites including the food banks, the Boys & Girls Club, KSQM radio, Senior Nutrition programs, OlyCAP Emergency Services and Vet Connect among others. “It’s an opportunity to give back, to get out and to interact and participate in the community,” said Donna Volaske, who has been volunteering with RSVP for seven years. “The people make it all worth it. We have good clients and good volunteers.” The opportunity to work at a food bank helps the volunteers be able to address a community need. “You appreciate how much people need the food,” said Mike Boock, who is the volunteer manager of the Tri-Area Food Bank. “We’re supposed to provide supplement, but there are some folks who, without access to the food bank, will go hungry.” In addition to working at the food banks, some volunteers provide assistance to other seniors through the senior nutrition program by delivering meals to homebound seniors and helping serve community meals. Each group of volunteers not only meets the community members they serve, but they also form friendships with those whom they serve. “I think I get as much out of it as our customers,” said Joan Becker, who volunteers serving bread at the Port Townsend Food Bank. The total 47,900 hours of their work is equal to a value of $1.6 million in paid labor, Covella said. “Volunteers aren’t free labor,” added OlyCAP Executive Director Dale Wilson. “But they are priceless.”