Drive Happiness needs volunteers
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A nonprofit group that aims to help seniors get where they need to go needs help.
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Drive Happiness needs more volunteers in the Strathcona County area.
Krystin Hoffart, communications coordinator at Drive Happiness, said the community has many committed volunteers over the 10 years it has operated in the area. However, demand for the service has increased.
“During the pandemic, we’ve seen a general increase in all the communities we serve with the need for assisted transportation and the need for things like grocery delivery or working with local food banks,” he said. she declared. “The need has remained quite high since then, and we’ve peaked in terms of demand and we need volunteers.”
Gasoline prices and the rising cost of living are also contributing to the increased use of services.
“The cost of living has skyrocketed recently and things like food are more expensive. We serve a lot of vulnerable seniors living on fixed budgets and that also plays into their transportation options,” Hoffart explained. “I hear, more often than I would like, of people making choices between going to the grocery store or going to their doctor and that has put people in difficult situations.”
As for the number of volunteers they are looking for, Hoffart said the more the better.
“We are looking for as many as possible. The operation of the service is very flexible,” she said. “Our volunteers have access to the database, which displays calls from requested rides and they can filter by day and location.”
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There is no minimum or maximum number of hours required for volunteers.
“We have a great team of volunteers in Strathcona County. Many of them have been with us for several years now and have been so helpful even before the pandemic,” Hoffart said. “We don’t have a set number of volunteers that we are looking for, but we hope there will be as many people as possible.”
Interested individuals can learn more about what it takes to volunteer at drivehappiness.ca.
“We select a well-maintained vehicle and a clean driving resume. Anyone who enjoys meeting people finds it a very rewarding role,” Hoffart said. “Drive Happiness is an organization where the person you help is in the seat passenger next to you and you can see his appreciation first hand and hear his story and often our riders and drivers develop very good friendships.”
Volunteers must also pass a police check for the vulnerable sector, which the nonprofit will pay for.
“Next to Edmonton, Strathcona County is our largest service area right now,” Hoffart said. “We work with, and have for years, many organizations in Strathcona County…including Linking Generations, Strathcona Food Bank and a number of others.”
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