Rice Student Volunteer Program (RSVP)

RSVP was established in the fall of 1985 by a group of students who wanted to create a community service liaison between Rice University and the Houston community.  Since then, RSVP has taken on various roles in promoting community service.  RSVP functions as a programming board that organizes campus-wide educational awareness and service opportunities for the Rice community.  Included in the many activities that RSVP promotes, students volunteer to mentor and teach youth, work in homeless shelters, organize clothing and food drives, work in environmental preservation, and work in Houston area museums and hospitals.  RSVP and all of its events are open to all members of the Rice community.  RSVP is a blanket-tax organization whose primary income is from a $2.00 fee collected from each student at the beginning of the year.

To learn about RSVP and this year's programs, come to a weekly meeting on Monday nights at 9:00pm in the RMC Miner Lounge. For more information, contact Alice Tsao (alice.tsao@rice.edu) or visit the RSVP web site (http://www.rice.edu/rsvp).

A brief description of the RSVP committees and most popular projects are listed below.

1. Children's Committee:  Contact Kim Huynh (nkh1@rice.edu) or Enstin Ye (esy1@rice.edu)
   Volunteer at DePelchin Children's Center on Saturday evenings, in the Rice Village at the Children's Assessment Center or help with Project Pumpkin, an annual on-campus Halloween carnival for local youth.
2. Education Committee:  Contact Liz Jackson (liz.jackson@rice.edu) or Christina Rojas (crr4@rice.edu)
   Volunteer with local elementary schools, host campus tours for high school students, help cute kids with their homework.
3. Health Committee:  Contact Alex Young (alexyoung@rice.edu) or Lisa Tseggay (lisa.tseggay@rice.edu)
   Volunteer in the Medical Center at Ben Taub, Bering Omega AIDS Hospice, Nursing Home Patients or participate in charity walks.
4. Environmental Committee:  Contact Josh Rutenberg (jhr1@rice.edu) Volunteer at Hermann Park, bi-annual beach clean-ups, or with the on-campus community gardens.  Originally a program of RSVP's Environmental Committee, the on-campus garden is now part of a larger effort that includes a community gardening course and many other campus groups.  Since 1999, pounds of fresh produce have been delivered to Casa Juan Diego, Casa Maria, local shelters, and even the campus serveries.  The community gardens are a great way to volunteer without leaving campus and you learn some great skills.
5. Hunger and Homelessness Committee:  Contact Susan Su (szs1@rice.edu) and Aron Yu (aron.yu@rice.edu)
   Serve dinner at Star of Hope, organize a blanket drive, participate in the Hunger Banquet, and many more activities designed to eliminate poverty in Houston and beyond. 

RSVP Officers

Officer and Title	E-mail Address
Alice Tsao Chair	alice.tsao@rice.edu
Danielle Axelson Internal Vice-Chair	danielle.n.axelson@rice.edu
Grace Chang External Vice-Chair	grace.chang@rice.edu
Sarah James Secretary	sarah.a.james@rice.edu
Tina Cai Treasurer	tina.cai@rice.edu

College Representatives

College	College Representatives	Freshman Representative
Baker	Xiaoyi Luo (xiaoyi.luo@rice.edu) Makeda Mekonnen (makybm@rice.edu)	1 to be selected in September 2009
Brown	Niti Patel (nmp2@yahoo.com) Jennifer Phillips (jip1@rice.edu)	1 to be selected in September 2009
Duncan	Baker College Representatives to serve for 2009	1 to be selected in September 2009
Hanszen	Elizabeth Chen (eyc3@rice.edu) Chethan Ramprasad (chethan.v.ramprasad@rice.edu)	1 to be selected in September 2009
Jones	Shannon Kelley (sek2@rice.edu) 1 to be selected in September 2009	1 to be selected in September 2009
Lovett	Natasha Sotolongo (ns5@rice.edu) 1 to be selected in September 2009	1 to be selected in September 2009
Martel	Kavina Juneja (jk1@rice.edu) 1 to be selected in September 2009	1 to be selected in September 2009
McMurtry	Will Rice College Representatives to serve for 2009	1 to be selected in September 2009
Sid Rich	Wen Zhang (wz1@rice.edu) Matthew Diasio (mad3@rice.edu)	1 to be selected in September 2009
Wiess	Mimi Arnold (maa1@rice.edu) Alysa Frost (alysa.m.frost@rice.edu)	1 to be selected in September 2009
Will Rice	2 to be selected in September 2009	1 to be selected in September 2009

Outreach Days

RSVP's Fall and Spring Outreach Days bring the campus together for productive days of service work.  Approximately 300 students typically volunteer each Outreach Day at one of over 20 service sites, including the Humane Society, the Children's Museum, Star of Hope, and many, many more.  E-mail RSVP (rsvp@rice.edu) for more information or for the date of the next Outreach Day.

Community Involvement Center6100 Main MS-200, Houston, Texas 77005-1827       Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1892, MS-200, Houston, Texas 77251-1892

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