When seniors devote their time and talents to volunteer efforts, extraordinary things can happen.

"Volunteering could actually save your life," said Bob Small, director of the North Idaho Area Agency on Aging's Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

The national program began in 1972 with the "hopes of utilizing and tapping into the resources and the experiences of seniors who used to retire at the age of 55," Small said.

About 475 volunteers are active in North Idaho through RSVP, dedicating thousands of hours a year to their communities.

"It's just unbelievable," he said. "Volunteers are doing so much that people aren't aware of."

Volunteering provides invaluable service to any community. Taxpayers save money, organizations receive assistance with tasks and things simply get done. And according to a report by the National Governors Association, seniors who volunteer "experience fewer health issues with advancing age and report diminishing symptoms for existing health conditions." The report also states that "volunteering reduces feelings of depression among older adults."

According to Small, RSVP provides myriad opportunities for those 55 and older to get out and get involved. Make someone smile through the Friendship Corps. Help a kiddo improve his or her reading skills as a mentor or tutor. Deliver nutritious meals to homebound seniors through Meals on Wheels. Show some kindness to an unwanted or abused animal in a local animal shelter. Many more volunteer options are available.

Diane Olson, 65, Mary Hess, 72, and Madie "Mother" Pray, 85, are cheerful volunteers who welcome people in the Coeur d'Alene Convention and Visitor Bureau.

"It's been wonderful," Hess said. "The greatest part of volunteering is that nobody is bossing you around telling you what to do."

Olson said she considers volunteering extremely important because it's giving back to her community.

"When we're younger, we're just concerned about ourselves, our families, and now we give back," Olson said. She said she thinks Coeur d'Alene is a great place to live.

"There's no place better. This is paradise, in my book."

Pray is a former employee of the visitor's center who has been involved since 1996.

"Well, you have to keep busy," Pray said. "You can't sit around and vegetate."

Joan Ford, coordinator of visitor services, said the center sees about 25,000 people per year, with hundreds passing through each day in the summer.

"If we didn't have volunteers, we'd be in big trouble," she said. "We couldn't function without them."

Another member of RSVP is Vern Ward, who volunteers for the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office in the Citizens on Patrol (COPS) program. He is a retired Navy warrant officer with plenty of experience in law enforcement. Ward also has a long history of volunteer work, including three years with COPS and about eight with RSVP. He will be 70 in September.

"I always like to keep my fingers in law enforcement," Ward said. He explained that he dons a uniform similar to the deputies while he patrols neighborhoods and works traffic control, among other things.

"We keep our eyes and ears out there for the department," Ward said. When people go on vacation, he said, patrolmen will check your house "to make sure it's still there." What does he do when he isn't volunteering?

"I hug my wife," he said with a chuckle. The couple is expecting their first great-grandchild any day now.

How to be involved

* Those interested in the RSVP program can contact Bob Small at 667-3179, ext. 235, or bsmall@aaani.org. Info: aaani.org.

* The sixth annual Kootenai County Young Professionals Volunteer Fair is today from 4-7 p.m. at the Coeur d'Alene Best Western Inn.