|
Volunteer Transportation Center Looking for Drivers
this Winter
Published: November 03, 2024
at 12:30 p.m.
By: Press Release from Volunteer Transportation
Center
Volunteer Transportation Center Looking for Drivers
this Winter
WATERTOWN, NY— The Volunteer
Transportation Center is putting out a call for drivers as the winter
season approaches.
“We have amazing
volunteer drivers who help us every day in our mission to help people of
the North Country get to and from their medical appointments,” said
Executive Director Sam Purington. “We’re always looking for more,
especially this time of year.”
The Volunteer
Transportation Center, established in 1991, drives thousands of miles each
year assisting community members in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence
Counties and beyond. Over the last three decades, the essential non-profit
organization has provided rides to health care appointments, food sources
and other critical needs destinations for residents. The service is offered
free of charge and year-round.
In Northern New
York, it’s not uncommon for residents to head to warmer regions for the
winter, said Mr. Purington, and that includes those who volunteer for the
Volunteer Transportation Center. With many volunteer drivers being retired
and having the flexibility of being able to head south this time of year,
it creates a greater need for drivers.
“We can’t blame
them for wanting to be somewhere a little warmer during the colder months,”
said Mr. Purington, with a laugh. “We just want to replenish the ranks with more awesome people to handle the
volume of trips that remains while they’re gone. The need for
transportation is always there.”
While volunteer
drivers are not paid, they are reimbursed for the miles driven for client
appointments. Drivers are reimbursed up to the IRS rate and reimbursement
is not considered income, so therefore is not
taxable.
“Often times,
people will learn about what our organization does
and they want to help but they’re worried their reimbursement will affect
their Social Security or Disability,” said Terra Thompson, Regional Program
Director for the VTC. “When they learn that what we offer is not pay for
working but rather reimbursement for what they do for us, it makes it
possible for them to volunteer without that worry.”
In addition to
mileage reimbursement, volunteer drivers are able to
dictate when they’re available. It could be a couple hours a week, a couple
hours a few days a week or could be several hours every day.
“Our volunteer
drivers are exactly that — volunteers,” said Ms. Thompson. “We know not
everyone has the same amount of time they can give
and we certainly would never try to tell them when they’ll volunteer. It’s
up to them. That’s why having an abundance of volunteers can help us get
our clients to their appointments with a schedule that isn’t too much on
any one volunteer.”
Volunteer drivers
utilize their own vehicles, which must be clean and in good-working
condition. Vehicles are preferred to be 15 years old or newer and smoking
is prohibited. Volunteers must furnish a copy of their driver’s license, a
copy of their vehicle registration and proof of insurance for their
vehicle. Volunteers must also complete an application and agree to a
background check. Once complete, volunteers go through an orientation
before driving.
“We’d really love
for someone hearing about this to reach out to us and have a conversation
with us,” said Ms. Thompson. “That’s how a lot of our longest relationships
with our volunteers started. Once they see the difference
they can help us make, they’re hooked.”
The VTC also
always looks for support from the community in the form of donations to
help with the cost of mileage reimbursement for volunteer drivers. In 2023,
volunteer drivers provided 25,314 charitable trips over 855,471 miles in
Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties. Of those miles, 329,819 helped
those in Jefferson County, 101,766 in Lewis County, and 423,886 in St.
Lawrence County. That equated to approximately $427,736 in mileage
reimbursement. That’s why the community’s help is so important.
For more
information about becoming a volunteer driver, making a
donation or becoming a client, contact the Volunteer Transportation
Center office in Watertown at 315-788-0422 or in Canton at 315-714-2034.
More information is also available by sending an email to info@volunteertransportation.org
or visiting www.volunteertransportationcenter.org.
The volunteer driver application may also be found at the direct link
of https://bit.ly/VTC-Volunteer-Application.
ABOUT THE
VOLUNTEER TRANSPORTATION CENTER
The Volunteer
Transportation Center, Inc. (VTC), established in 1991, drives thousands of
miles each year assisting community members in Jefferson, Lewis and St.
Lawrence Counties and beyond. Over the last 30 years, this essential
non-profit organization has provided rides to health care appointments,
food sources and other critical needs destinations for residents.
In 2023,
volunteer drivers provided 25,314 charitable trips over 855,471 miles in
Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties. Of those miles, 329,819 helped
those in Jefferson County, 101,766 in Lewis County, and 423,886 in St.
Lawrence County. That equated to approximately $427,736 in mileage
reimbursement for our volunteers. That’s why the community’s help is so
important.
The staff, boards
of directors and volunteer drivers look forward to a time when
transportation to community activities and services is accessible to all
North Country residents regardless of economic or specialized needs. But
for now the mission drives on — striving to
provide transportation to health, wellness and critical needs destinations
utilizing volunteers and mobility management for anyone who has barriers to
transportation.
For more
information about how you can help the Volunteer Transportation Center,
about its upcoming events, or to become a volunteer driver, contact the
agency in Jefferson and Lewis Counties at 315-788-0422, in St. Lawrence
County at 315-714-2034, or Western New York at 585-250-5030. Volunteers
drive their own cars, set their own hours and receive mileage reimbursement
but, more importantly, make a difference in the community. To learn more,
visit www.volunteertransportationcenter.org.
|
