Photo Photo Courtesy Of Silvar

Volunteers for RSVP did yard work for a 90-year-old Los Altos senior last year.

For senior homeowners or renters who are physically or financially challenged, tasks like replacing smoke-detector batteries, flipping a mattress and washing windows can be major chores.

To help with the heavy lifting, seniors and the homebound residing on the Peninsula and in the South Bay may request free assistance with such household tasks through the Realtor Service Volunteer Program (RSVP) during the week of May 6-10. The deadline for seniors to apply for assistance is March 15.

Realtors and affiliates offer RSVP to qualified seniors who cannot otherwise perform certain household tasks due to physical or financial constraints. During RSVP Week, teams of realtors and affiliates (professionals who provide industry-related services) will visit senior households and perform various cleaning and maintenance tasks free of charge.

Members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors founded the annual community service program in 2001. The program has since expanded to include members of the Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties associations of realtors. Realtors now assist seniors residing as far north as Daly City and south to Gilroy.

“Our members realize that the help they extend to the elderly can make a difference in a senior remaining an independent homeowner or renter, or having to give up that independence to some form of caregiving and dependence on strangers,” said Eileen Giorgi, RSVP Committee chairwoman. “RSVP is our way of thanking our seniors for all they have done for our communities.”

Last year, 386 RSVP volunteers from the Bay Area provided assistance to 284 senior households. All told, 213 realtors and affiliates assisted 148 senior households in SILVAR’s five districts.

Seniors who live in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside, Portola Valley, Saratoga, Monte Sereno and Los Gatos are eligible to participate.

For an application, call (408) 200-0100 or visit www.silvar.org.

The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors provided information for this article. For more information, email Rose Meily at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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