Volunteer drivers -
connecting communities and improving lives

Volunteer driver programs in communities such as Windham. South Portland and Bowdoinham are essential for older residents to maintain wellness, complete errands and to be engaged in the communities they call home. Older residents benefit, but so do the volunteers who provide rides. When we met with program coordinators, they emphasized that volunteers got as much benefit as the riders. 

WINDHAM

In 2024, Age-Friendly Windham launched a pilot volunteer transportation program to help older residents get to their medical appointments. This program has arranged over 50 rides since it began in January. Currently, three drivers provide all the rides; Age-Friendly Windham hopes to recruit more drivers and to expand the types of rides they can provide. Volunteers come together once a month to share experiences (and a few laughs!) and benefit from training offered by Age-Friendly Windham. 

Scheduling a ride is simple. People leave a message on a voicemail, saying where they need to go and when. The coordinator returns their call to confirm the ride and to collect any other information needed. To give the program the best chance to find an available volunteer, riders are asked to call at least 48 hours in advance. 

Does the program make a difference? According to one rider, quoted in the Windham Eagle, the answer is YES! One of their first riders needed transportation to and from day surgery. Friends were willing to drive him but they would have had to take a day off work, so he decided to try Age Friendly Windham’s new medical rides program. This is how he described his experience: 

“One volunteer picked me up at my house, and another volunteer picked me up after the surgery. They both were very courteous, on time and friendly. We even laughed and joked around. It was such a great experience for me that I offered to pay the volunteers for their time and gas, but they said they couldn’t accept it.”

BOWDOINHAM

Rides in Neighbors’ Cars (Rides I.N.C.) provides rides for medical appointments, social activities, errands, and anything else needed by an older resident. This program had its small beginning nearly 10 years ago when a community member began to give rides to a neighbor - and from there it grew. 

In earlier years, rides largely consisted of trips to medical appointments. Now this program strives to take people anywhere they might need to go within a 50-mile radius. Residents of Bowdoinham who are 60 years and older and people with disabilities are eligible. While there is no fee, donations are accepted.

Scheduling a ride is as simple as a phone call. Residents call Rides I.N.C. and provide details  including date, time, destination, and any accommodations needed. Afterwards, the ride information is posted to a shared calendar on Lotsa Helping Hands. Volunteers sign up to give a ride that fits with their schedule. The driver calls the rider the day before to confirm the trip.

In 2023, Rides I.N.C. completed 413 trips for a total of 12,387 miles! Co-coordinators Diana Mosher and Maureen Booth described the unpredictability of the need for rides. Anywhere from 0 – 6 rides can be needed on any day. The volunteer force behind Rides I.N.C. includes 14 drivers. Some give an occasional ride, while a core group of 6-8 drivers provide most of the rides. 

Interested drivers undergo an orientation process including a background check and onboarding topics like donations, car condition, assisting riders with physical limitations, and monthly reporting of data on rides, hours and miles.  There is no minimum number of rides that volunteers must complete to maintain their volunteer status. Two keys to successful recruitment are providing training so that drivers are confident and letting the drivers choose the schedule that works for them. 

Rides I.N.C. encourages people in other communities to start a program that works for them. It doesn’t require a paid coordinator or a large number of volunteers to start -  just a few dedicated residents who want to make sure that everyone in their community can get to the places they need to go. 

SOUTH PORTLAND

South Portland partnered with ITN to provide free medical rides to residents. Watch this PSA to learn more about their program!