The Transportation Program’s Annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon took place on December 15th, and (as always) it was a fun and inspiring event for all those in attendance. The gathering was the perfect way to thank volunteers for everything they’ve done in the past year and recognize drivers celebrating milestone anniversaries with the program. With good food, motivating words of wisdom, interesting conversation, and amazing prizes, it was certainly an afternoon to remember!

Here, staff members eagerly await the arrival of over 215 volunteers and program supporters at the check-in table.

The room was soon filled to the brim with positive energy and excitement.

5-year drivers

10-year drivers

15-year drivers

Many wonderful door prizes were given out to over 30 lucky winners.

There was even a unique fish basket.

Cindy Zwart, Transportation Program Director and Senior Services employee for 25 years, included a humorous and thoughtful Top Ten list in her remarks. All volunteer drivers could relate to her commentary.  Her "Top Ten Reasons You Know You are a Volunteer Driver" were as follows:

1. You don’t get paid. And believe me, we couldn’t afford to pay you! Last year you donated over 55,000 hours of your time – the value of your time based on Washington State’s estimated value of volunteer labor was $1,266,824.90!

2. On a regular basis, your significant other looks at you and says, “Are you taking the car again, dear?”

3. You know the back roads to every medical facility in King County.

4. You feel really, really good! Studies show that people who volunteer experience better physical health, including lower blood pressure, increased brain function, lower rates of depression and a longer lifespan. Which means you can drive for us for many more years!

5. You are the star of your book club because now you have time to read each month’s selection while waiting at the doctor’s office for your client.

6. You have a recurring nightmare that you are lost in a parking garage in downtown Seattle and cannot find your way out.

7. You mean to call your husband, but you call Donald [Lead Volunteer Transportation Coordinator] instead.

8. You’ve made many, many new friends. In all their cards and letters, clients describe you as their friend, their life saver, their hero, their guardian angel. Every time you drive, you bring a smile to their face, a little joy to their day, you touch their hearts and make they realize that someone cares.

9. Every year you get to attend a fabulous Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon.

10. At night when you go to sleep, and in the morning when you wake up, you know in your heart that whatever evils and problems afflict this world that you are helping to make our community a more humane and better place to live.

The festive occasion renewed enthusiasm for continuing our collective work to “make our community a more humane and better place to live.”

***We’d like to publicly thank this year’s door prize sponsors who helped make the 2015 Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon such a resounding success: Ivar’s/Kidd Valley Restaurants, Taco Time, Tim’s Cascade Potato Chips, McLendon Hardware, Jiffy Lube, PCC Natural Markets, EMP Museum, Washington Dental Service, Brown Bear Car Wash, LeMay Car Museum, Total Wine & More, Wing Luke Museum, Trader Joe’s, Museum of Flight, Ethan Stowell’s Chippy’s restaurant in Ballard, Mary Ann Arnone, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle Chocolates, Office Depot/Office Max, Emerald Downs, Trident Seafood, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Paula Houston, Pacific Science Center, Donald and Teresa Benedict, and Tulalip Resort Casino.

We were delighted to see our program, including volunteer driver Bill Goodfellow and client Mary Roberts, featured in this article in today's edition of the Seattle Times.  We were profiled because Senior Services is one of twelve local agencies that will benefit from the Seattle Times Fund For the Needy.  What an exciting opportunity!

We'd like to share the story's narrative about Volunteer Transportation here:

Seniors helping seniors
While some Seattle and King County residents enjoyed an economic resurgence after the recession of 2008, those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder have not shared in the prosperity.

In the annual overnight count of homeless in King County early this year, volunteers found 3,772 men, women and children had no shelter, more than a 20 percent increase from the previous year.

Alison Eisinger, executive director of the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, called the tally “heartbreaking evidence that we cannot cover our community’s most basic needs.”

The numbers of people in need are large. The Census Bureau estimates that 60,000 children and 20,000 seniors in King County are living in households below the poverty level.
As baby boomers age, the ranks of elders swell. Today’s “youngest” oldsters may need to stay in the workforce longer, or live more years in which they’ll depend on Social Security and savings.

In the effort to help seniors, Senior Services uses a particularly effective resource: other seniors.

Of the 3,800 volunteers that put in a combined 274,000 hours last year, the agency estimates that 85 percent were at least 60 years old.

Among them is Bill Goodfellow, of Seattle, who’ll turn 80 in December.

For seven years — usually several times a week — he has driven Senior Services clients to doctor visits or other appointments. He stays through their appointments and takes them home.

The retired architect and structural engineer happily gives up the time. If the appointment is a long one, that’s fine, he said. It gives him more time to read the library books — including many mysteries — he has downloaded onto his iPad.

Goodfellow forgoes the money Senior Services offers for gas and parking, as do other drivers he knows, who consider it part of “their contribution to the program.”

Mary Roberts, 89, of Seattle, gets dropped off at her dentist’s office by Senior Services volunteer Bill Goodfellow. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)

The unsung heroes of the program, he said, are the Senior Services staffers who, a week at a time, match up ride requests with the available drivers.

Senior Services’ ride programs took clients a total of 1,113,422 miles last year, the equivalent of more than two round trips to the moon.

The best part of the assignment, he said, is meeting interesting people, such as Mary Roberts, 89, whom he recently drove from her Capitol Hill apartment to her Beacon Hill dentist.

Mary Roberts, 89, of Seattle, jokes around with Senior Services volunteer driver Bill Goodfellow, who turns 80 in December. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)

A few years ago, Roberts might not have envisioned needing this service. But that changed when she got in a serious car crash while driving to a square-dancing session in West Seattle.

“No one was injured, thankfully. But I decided it was a sign. I couldn’t take the thought of hurting someone.” So she hung up her car keys for good.

Roberts, a retired materials-purchasing manager for a railroad, enjoys walking and doesn’t mind the 12-block walk to her church, Capitol Hill Presbyterian.

But she’s glad to have the option of Senior Services rides to doctor visits. She makes donations for the rides — but still less than she’d have to pay if she used a taxi.

And she regards Goodfellow as nothing less than an important civic asset.

“He just a really sweet guy,” she said. “And we’re fortunate to have him.”

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 As we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, we give thanks for Bill and all the rest of our our amazing and inspiring volunteer drivers!

Mariam M. is a 93-year-old Bothell resident who is originally from Armenia.  When her family learned that she would require daily radiation treatments, they were grateful to discover the Volunteer Transportation program.  Mariam and her daughter-in-law rode with many different volunteer drivers over the past few weeks as they travelled frequently to Evergreen Hospital’s Oncology Department, and they greatly appreciated the service and support during such a difficult time.

We were very touched by the thank you card we received from Mariam this week, and we’d like to share it with you here:

It reads, “To Volunteer Transportation Senior Services, Thank you for offering this wonderful and much needed service for Senior Citizens.  It sure made life easier for my children and I.  Your hard work combined with love, caring and dedication makes this world a very beautiful place to live in.  If only everyone can act and help each other like this, the whole world will be at peace.

Love all of you & your fabulous volunteers,
Mariam M. & family”

Amen!  What a lovely statement!

Claire

Claire McDaniel joined the Volunteer Transportation staff on July 21st as the program’s intrepid Administrative Assistant. She is very busy learning all of the intricate behind-the-scenes work necessary to make our program the well-oiled machine it is today!

After 20 years in Seattle as an administrative professional in the corporate world, Claire was ready to make the move to a nonprofit where she can do more meaningful work. Senior Services was just what she was looking for! Before joining us, her most fulfilling position was the four years she spent at Seattle Housing Authority as Executive Assistant to the Director of Communications. Claire saw how much low income housing residents appreciated the opportunity to live in safe, affordable and comfortable communities. While studying Sociology at San Jose State University, she learned not only about how society shapes each of us, but also how individuals can shape society. We are all connected; therefore, lending a helping hand to even one of us benefits us all.

Ophelia

In her spare time, Claire enjoys hanging out at home in Ballard with her adorable Calico cat, Ophelia. Her favorite neighborhood spot is the botanical garden at the Locks, where she can sit under a tree and listen to the birds. Another of her interests is traveling, especially trips to New Orleans, Louisiana and Paris, France. She loves to read on her Kindle, too. Lately, she has been making her way through the 10 book series about Detective Kurt Wallander by Swedish author, Henning Mankell.

We are so excited to have Claire on our team! We know that she will keep Volunteer Transportation running smoothly and efficiently with her thoughtfulness, organization, and attention to detail.

 She can be reached at clairem@seniorservices.org.

Volunteer driver, Reta Beals, escorts Fern to an appointment.

71-year-old Fern Malavaceo does not know what she’d do without Volunteer Transportation.  Forty years ago, she decided that driving was not for her.  It caused her great anxiety, especially after she’d had multiple harrowing experiences behind the wheel on freeways in the rain.  She relied on her kids to take her to appointments when they could, but she often felt stuck when they were unavailable.  She registered for Volunteer Transportation three years ago and says, “The program is such a blessing!”

For Fern, Volunteer Transportation is about comfort and familiarity.  She explains, “The drivers are awesome!  They are so considerate.  They’re like family members to me.”  She loves how volunteers typically wait for her as she’s in an appointment and reports that she always feels supported throughout the whole process.

Fern (and others like her) make it clear that volunteer drivers have an amazing ability to ease stress and calm nerves.  They bring Zen to the art of giving rides.

The Volunteer Transportation program is incredibly pleased to welcome Kaitlin Sovich as its new Eastside/West Seattle Coordinator.  She is the perfect fit for this rewarding/challenging role!

Kaitlin, a native Floridian, grew up in Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. While in high school, her first job as a dining services and events associate at an assisted living community taught her that she wants to spend her career making the lives of seniors the best that they can be. She has looked forward to working with seniors again ever since leaving that job to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL in 2009. While at UF, she sought out work in a research lab focusing on memory and aging, and upon graduating with her B.A. in anthropology and sociology in May 2013, she went to work for the UF College of Medicine as a Research Coordinator in the Department of Health Outcomes and Policy.  After six happy years in Gainesville, in July 2015, Kaitlin and her partner moved to Seattle for new opportunities in life and work. Kaitlin is very excited to have joined the Volunteer Transportation team at Senior Services and finds working with seniors in this capacity to be dynamic and fulfilling.

In her spare time, Kaitlin enjoys cooking, reading, playing with her cat, exploring her neighborhood, and spending time with her partner and friends in this incredible city.

We know that all Volunteer Transportation clients and staff will love working with Kaitlin as she uses her skills and talents to breathe life into the program!  Feel free to drop her a line at kaitlins@seniorservices.org.

synonyms:

obliging, eager to please, kind, accommodating, supportive, cooperative; sympathetic, boosterish, neighborly, charitable