It is more than just getting from Point A to Point B......

The transportation services provided by Ride Connection and our network of partners is more than getting someone from Point A to Point B....it is what that individual trip means to that individual.

When asked what the transportation service Jean receives from Ride Connection means to her, she responded, “It’s the highlight of the week.” The 84-year-old widow still has her home and shares it with two dogs and cats and admits to feeding the neighborhood and stray cats as well so her shopping includes buying for them every week too. The yard work though she says is getting “a bit difficult for me.”

“It gives me freedom” and allows me to “get out”, she says. Retired from Fred Meyer after 25 years, she knows the store well, so despite vision problems she can get around and fill her needs. And she “just loved” a recent trip to the Good Will “Bin Store” and came home with bags full of “new” clothes. “It was such fun,” she said.

Not only does Ride Connection provide individuals life sustaining transportation, we also provide transportation for life enriching activities that allow individuals the ability to remain independent and healthy members of their communities.

Thank you Jean for sharing you experience with us! Also many thanks to the volunteers, staff, and our partner agencies, because without you there would not be any stories to tell.....

Volunteer with a Heart!!

Charlie Morris said he needed something to do. When he retired, he didn’t have a grand plan to go RVing in the Redwoods or fishing in the nearby rivers. He wanted to help. And help he has.

For the last 19 years, Charlie has been a volunteer driver with the Ride Connection and the American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter’s transportation service for older adults and people with disabilities. He always looks forward to Tuesdays when he takes his riders all over the city to the grocery store, doctor appointments, social visits, and more. They all tell him, “I’m sure glad you could do this. I don’t know what I would do without these rides.”

Charlie smiles at the thought of the comments he gets from his riders, but it’s clear to see the pleasure is his. He extols the value of knowing the city as only a routine driver could, cherishes meeting new people, and plainly sees the significance of the service he’s providing. “It’s really something [for my riders] to be able to get out and see the world…even if it’s merely a trip to the grocery store,” says Charlie. He was once laid up because of a surgery that kept him housebound for eight weeks. He says, “There’s nothing more discouraging than being confined in your own four walls.”

Charlie understands the value and importance of Ride Connection’s transportation services. Offering transportation to those who need it enables those riders to maintain independence and to enjoy some of the little pleasures in life, like special holidays such as the upcoming St. Valentine’s Day.
Charlie will enjoy the day for another reason: it’s the day he celebrates 57 wonderful years with his wife. Commitment, dedication and longevity are words Charlie Morris demonstrates very well.