We here at the Transportation Program are a part of the big, happy extended family of Senior Services-- the most comprehensive non-profit agency serving older adults and their loved ones in Washington State.  Together with our fellow Senior Services "brothers and sisters," we work to "promote the emotional, social, and physical well-being of older adults."  This includes many worthwhile services that inform, protect, support, and advocate; promote health and strength; enable seniors to remain independent and safe at home; and promote relationships and meaningful engagement in the community.  Collectively, we aspire to empower older people from diverse backgrounds to choose and develop joyful, healthful, and purposeful lives.

I'd like to dedicate this post to helping you get better acquainted with a few of our Senior Services "siblings": Meals on Wheels, Water Conservation, and Minor Home Repair.  Each of these programs is equally valuable in ensuring the independence and safety of the seniors we serve.

Meals on Wheels delivers nutritious and delicious frozen meals to thousands of homes throughout King County each week.  The following video (produced by the City of Auburn) portrays the heart and soul of what it's all about:



For more information about Meals on Wheels in King County, you can call the program at (206)448-5767.

Senior Services also strives to make lives easier through its Housing and Home Repair programs.  Leonard Luna, Minor Home Repair Field and Operations Coordinator, created the following PowerPoint presentations* to better illustrate the services offered within this Senior Services department (*minor formatting challenges):

 

On May 7, the Mayor and City Council of Federal Way devoted a portion of their meeting to honoring volunteers from two Senior Services’ programs: Meals on Wheels and Volunteer Transportation.  Cindy Zwart, Director of the Transportation Program, highlighted the significant impact both VT drivers and MOW volunteers have on the Federal Way community.  She reported that there are currently 29 active Federal Way volunteer drivers, who transported 67 area seniors to various appointments in 2012. Another 18 volunteers supported Meals on Wheels in various ways (calling and computer recording in the office, packing, and driving/delivering the meals) to deliver 16,795 nutritious meals to 87 Federal Way seniors.   Mayor Priest was quick to point out, though, that these numbers mean nothing compared to the life-changing benefits experienced by clients of these programs on an individual level; there is no way to quantify the value of such assistance.

Cindy echoed these sentiments in her remarks.  She shared, "I have been working at Senior Services for over 22 years now, but I started out as a volunteer driver, and I know first-hand the dramatic impact our volunteers have on the lives of seniors in King County who would be unable to get to essential medical appointments or eat nutrition meals without the personalized service provided by our volunteers...  None of our volunteers expect any thanks or recognition for what they do, but I think it is important to recognize the invaluable contributions they make to their community, to recognize the profound and positive impact they have on all the seniors whose lives they touch during the course of their volunteer duties..."

 Thus, the “Volunteer Spotlight” event allowed the City of Federal Way to publicly express its gratitude for the unique and  important work of our volunteers.   It was a humbling and uplifting occasion.

Meals on Wheels /Volunteer Transportation volunteers and staff pose with the Federal Way Mayor and City Council.

The following story comes to us from the May 2013 edition of AgeWise King County:

Claire Anderson lost her vision in a matter of seconds due to an optic stroke.

Sightless in Seattle: Adventures with My Guide Dog is available through Seattle Public Library. For more information, click here.

An optic stroke left Claire without sight when she was 64 years old. She did not allow her "legally blind" status to impact her active lifestyle.

Claire goes to the Monroe Correctional Complex every month to participate in the prison group's philosophical round table. She leads a memoir class at the Ballard Northwest Senior Center. She is involved in other activities as well, including public speaking, teaching, and even sewing.

Claire's yellow Labrador retriever DaVida is her constant companion. DaVida stars on the cover of Claire's book about vision loss titled Sightless in Seattle.

It takes courage and willingness to overcome personal challenges and barriers, and to live your life making a difference in the lives of others. Claire makes that difference.

For more information about this remarkable woman, visit Claire's website at www.claireanderson.net.

For more information about coping with vision loss, read Access to Technology for Vision Loss and Insight: A Low Vision Expo 2013 in this issue.

You may recognize Claire from the King County Mobility Coalition video highlighting our Volunteer Transportation program.  Here it is for your enjoyment:

It was quite a pleasant surprise when this "thank you" tin arrived. Inside,we discovered three different varieties of cookies.

To the mysterious person who ordered Mrs. Fields' cookies and kindly had them delivered to our Volunteer Transportation driver gathering in Auburn yesterday, we sincerely thank you for these tasty treats!  We have thoroughly enjoyed them.  Yum!

We had a great time talking about our experiences as volunteer drivers, but it was made even better by this sweet gift.

Meet Jay.  He has lived a very full life.  Prior to retiring as a Boeing engineer in 1995,he once oversaw the complete rebuilding of a plane that had landed on its belly in New Delhi.

It’s easy to talk with Jay Surati, a volunteer driver with Senior Services’ Volunteer Transportation program. He is a wealth of knowledge in a variety of topics; he’s full of fascinating stories; and there’s a notable sense of sincerity, warmth, and spirit behind every statement he makes.  Yet, since volunteering for the VT program in 1996, Jay’s discussions with clients have served as much more than just friendly banter.  These important dialogues have fostered meaningful learning and provided for increased cultural understanding.

Jay is from India.  This is just one layer of his multi-faceted identity, but it comes up very quickly in conversation with passengers --  “as soon as they hear my accent!” he notes.  Typical exchanges include the following questions:
• “Where are you from?” Jay says with a sly smile, ““I always make them guess.  Some of them get it right, but I usually joke and tell them I’m from Italy!”
• “Do you know of any good local Indian restaurants?”  Jay knows of several.
• “Do you know this other specific East Indian volunteer driver?(The mathematician?  The retired teacher?  The musician?  The one with the GPS?”). Jay usually can figure out who it is.  In fact, Jay recruited several of the program’s other Indian volunteer drivers!
• “How do you speak English so well?”  Jay laughs at this last one.  He explains that Indian children begin speaking English in school at a very young age.

But then there are the conversations of a more memorable nature.  He was once taken aback by a 90-year-old woman who was eager to hear his opinions about the current prime minister elections of his home country oh-so-far-away.  With so many television viewing options, he was impressed that she had become engrossed in Indian politics and wanted to learn more from him.

Jay also recalls a particularly poignant moment shortly after September 11, 2001.  In the climate of fear following the attacks, he drove a blind client who expressed true concern for him.  She’d heard tales of dark-skinned men experiencing discrimination, and she wanted to help.  Even though she could not see Jay, she was worried that his foreign origins would make him a target.  He was deeply moved by her empathy and compassion. 

Throughout each of these individual interactions, Jay knows that he is representing his cultural group and helping others to “know who we are.”  He says, “Maybe someday, one of these clients will tell her grandchildren, ‘This kind fellow from India gave me a ride.’” 

Jay believes that the program has “made my life very rich.”  His volunteer work with Senior Services (first with Meals and Wheels and then the Volunteer Transportation Program) even inspired him to take on other outreach projects with the East Indian community, including a lunch program in Redmond.  Furthermore, it has taught him about the process of “aging gracefully in American culture.”

Jay is evidence of the give-and-take nature volunteer driving.  Even though he asserts that he “does more taking than giving,” it is clear that it is a mutual, reciprocal process.

Jay labels his work as “building bridges.”   Person by person and word by word, he “talks” his way through differences and misconceptions to a place of powerful cross-cultural respect.

Like many of the volunteers, Shanta G. welcomed me into her home as I delivered her award in Seattle.



Rhonda J. was one of the first Shining Star recipients that I visited in South King County.

I know that I sound like a broken record when I say that we love our volunteers! But it’s so very true. We greatly appreciate each and every one of them; we recognize that each volunteer driver has a truly distinct and significant impact on the lives of others. It is for this reason that we do not believe in selecting one specific "standout" volunteer as a "volunteer of the month" or a "volunteer of the year." They are all special and admirable people.

However, with that said, we do believe in acknowledging the longstanding commitment of specific volunteers who have demonstrated steadfast dedication to volunteer driving. We objectively honor those who have offered years’ worth of service to our clients over particular periods of time.

Within the past few months, I’ve had the unique privilege of delivering beautiful Barone Crystal "Shining Star" awards to several volunteers who have driven for our program for the past 15 years. I’ve felt a little bit like the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol as I’ve made appearances at their front doors with these elegant tokens of appreciation.

As I’ve interacted with these long-term volunteers, I’ve been humbled and inspired. They have so many wonderful stories to share from their years of experience, and they still continue to find new lessons to be learned from each ride they give and each client they meet.

Each of our volunteers—new or old-- is a "star" in his/her own way, but our impressive "Shining Stars" serve as great reminders of the constant need for transportation, the continual growth of volunteers, and the self-perpetuating nature of doing good deeds.

Congratulations to them all!

~Hilary

Hilary, our Volunteer Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator, will be at the Viva Volunteers! Fair on Saturday, April 6, in Kirkland.  Please stop by and say "hello!"  You can find out more here.