Rice Student Volunteer Program
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, build wheel
chair ramps for the elderly, 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 Kathy Zhang (ktz1@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.
- Children's Committee
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. Contact
Tina Cai (tina.cai@rice.edu)
for more information.
- Education Committee
Volunteer with local elementary schools, host
campus tours for high school students, help
cute kids with their homework. Contact Dennis Shung (dls1@rice.edu)
for more information.
- Health Committee
Volunteer in the Medical Center at Ben Taub,
Bering Omega AIDS Hospice, Nursing Home
Patients or participate in charity walks.
Contact Wilbur Wang (wilbur.wang@rice.edu) for more information.
- Environmental Committee
Volunteer at Hermann Park, bi-annual beach
clean-ups, or with the on-campus garden.
A program of RSVP's Environment Committee,
the on-campus garden broke ground in the
spring of 1999. Since then, pounds of fresh
produce have been delivered to Casa Juan
Diego and Casa Maria, local shelters. Rice
volunteers maintain the organic garden located
next to Hicks Kitchen. It is a great way
to volunteer without leaving campus and you
learn some great skills. Contact Margaret Diddams (margie.diddams@rice.edu) for more information.
- Hunger and Homelessness Committee
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. Contact Hannah Lou (hhl1@rice.edu) for more information.
RSVP Officers
College Representatives
College |
College Representatives |
Freshman Representative |
Baker |
Elizabeth James
Julia Lukomnik |
VACANT |
Brown |
Amorette Kwan
Mary Chapman
Connie Foo |
VACANT |
Hanszen |
Michael Puente
Frank An |
Courtney Ng |
Jones |
Summer Jones
Sarah Nouri |
Henry Zhang |
Lovett |
Ritu Rajan |
VACANT |
Martel |
VACANT |
Andrew Fischer |
Sid Rich |
Josh Liao |
Laura Van Buren |
Wiess |
VACANT |
VACANT |
Will Rice |
Yara Hamade |
Stephen Kruzick |
Outreach Days
RSVP's Fall and Spring Outreach Days bring the campus together for productive
days of service work. Over 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.
