A growing need for volunteer drivers

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Bari Boyer gets fulfillment as a driver for Vineyard Village at Home. Every week, she hops in her all-electric Kia, picks up an Island elder at their home, and takes them to and from wherever they want to go — maybe it’s a doctor’s appointment, the YMCA for some exercise, food shopping, or perhaps a painting class.

For Boyer, it’s about getting Island seniors out of their homes and giving them something to do. 

One of her more memorable riders was a woman who spent part of the year in California, where the driving service was unavailable, and she felt isolated. Additionally, Boyer said, her passenger had a stroke in the past, has difficulty finding words, and needs to practice conversing with people besides her family members. 

“This gives her the opportunity to speak to me and the people at the classes she attends. It’s therapeutic for her, which makes me very happy. So it’s providing more than just a ride.”

Boyer is just one of the drivers for Vineyard Village at Home, and is part of a small army of volunteers who are helping older adults on Martha’s Vineyard — whether by delivering meals or bringing them to destinations. 

However, on an Island where the elder population continues to grow, the need is becoming greater. The population of older adults on the Vineyard is now one in three, according to officials with the Island nonprofit Healthy Aging M.V. But at the same time, the pool of volunteers is shrinking.

“Demand keeps increasing,” said Cindy Trish, executive director of Healthy Aging, which helps older residents on the Island. “People are getting older, and there are more of us. The need for transportation is exponential, and is never going to decrease. It’s always going to be more. And most people who need it don’t get it.” 

Trish continues, “Transportation is a vital element of living a full life on the Vineyard. The need for it continues to escalate, and without volunteer driving programs, the lives of our older adults would be reduced in many ways, including the inability to receive healthcare, to get to food sources such as the grocery store and Food Pantry, and as importantly, the social interactions that we all need to thrive in our community.”

Part of the problem is that the volunteers themselves are aging out. She said that the vast majority of volunteers, no matter for what service, are older adults. The worry is, Who will step into those roles when the volunteers age out? 

Vineyard Village at Home is just one Island organizations that provides volunteer drivers for seniors. There is also Meals on Wheels, which uses federal funding and volunteers to deliver meals to the elderly. But for Village at Home, the organization’s mission is to allow people to safely maintain their dignity and independence as they age in their own homes. When founded, the primary request was for transportation. 

Polly Brown, founder and board president, says that since 2007, they have served more than 300 members. Currently, they have 30 volunteers who are pulling together to meet the weekly demand of 60 to 100 requests. 

To handle the numbers, many drivers are graciously doubling up. But Brown notes that they can’t handle all the requests. 

“When we don’t have enough drivers, then we just have to say no, and the person doesn’t get to where they need to go,” Brown said. “They are just left in limbo if we can’t find a driver.”

For Boyer in her Kia, she likes that the program’s logistics are simple. Riders submit their requests in advance to the Vineyard Village at Home coordinator. On Friday, she sends an email to the volunteers for the upcoming week, along with a spreadsheet of the requested rides. Volunteers sign up for as many as they wish: “You just sign up for the times that work for you. So if you have guests or go away, you don’t feel like you have to report in.”

Boyer is hardly alone in believing that volunteering to drive has brought her joy. “People ask, ‘Why do you do so much of the driving?’ I feel like I’m being very selfish,” longtime Vineyard Village driver Paul Doherty told The Times. “I am getting more than I am giving. There’s always this wonderful interaction, and the people I drive are wonderful.” 

Dougherty recalled an early example: “Ester Hopkins was in her mid- to late 80s, and had been in home hospice, living with her son in Oak Bluffs. She was a lovely lady, and extremely smart. She had been a chemist for Polaroid, and had been a select person in Framingham. We really bonded. I regularly drove her, and I just loved talking to her. She was such a fascinating person, which was a strong motivation for me to drive.”

Lisa Steward, mobility manager at Healthy Aging M.V., administers the volunteer driving program, MV Connect. Prior to her current position, she also drove for Vineyard Village at Home, and shares one of the special relationships she forged with a regular rider. “The whole drive, it was like my grandmother dropped out of heaven and was in the passenger seat. My grandmother had a very heavy French accent, and the woman I drove spoke four languages. And she knew all about world history.” The relationship developed into a strong friendship, with Steward hosting her for Thanksgiving and Christmas: “It was a really special bond.”

These strong connections aren’t uncommon. Cory Carnazza relies on Vineyard Village at Home drivers to take her mother, Denni Croft, to and from the M.V. Center for Living and the YMCA several times a week: “It’s not only a great service, but Mom has made some great friends. The volunteers are wonderful people. They do it out of the goodness of their hearts, and genuinely enjoy it. One of the drivers comes in and has lunch with her once a week. They have a sandwich and watch a movie. It’s a great community thing, and I can’t thank our volunteers enough.”

The service is not only critical for Croft’s well-being, but also for Carnazza herself. “It’s an absolute savior for me. I’m her caretaker, so it gives me a lot more freedom when a volunteer shows up at my door to take Mom to her activities, and I don’t have to worry about transportation.”

Unfortunately, the shortage of volunteer drivers has also affected other Island organizations. Healthy Aging M.V.’s program, MV Connect, which began in mid-January, has 10 drivers. “We started with a bang, but I had to pull it back because we didn’t have enough volunteers,” Steward explains. “I’m hoping to do 50 rides a month, and 100 by the end of the summer.” 

Trish adds that, given the need, the goal for this program is to have 200 to 300 rides a month, which would be in addition to those they provide through their GoGo Grandparent program and shuttles.

Meals on Wheels is constantly seeking volunteer drivers to deliver meals, and the West Tisbury and Edgartown Councils on Aging are also seeking volunteer drivers.

Trish reflects, “There is something unique about being a volunteer driver. There are so many ways to volunteer on the Island. Some of them call upon your subject matter expertise and previous career. But this is a unique experience, because you’re bringing someone into your private space — your car. And you are engaging in an interaction that establishes a personal connection. The rewards are very unique.

Dougherty hopes others will be eager to sign up to drive: “It’s so important to keep older adults connected to the Island, especially as they age. Also, a lot of people live alone, and it’s the only time they get out and talk to people, interact, do things, and have fun. I just want to be a part of that. It’s so important.”

Boyer reflects, “I’m very inspired by my riders. Even though they may be limited, they are still motivated to get up and get out. I look at them and think, If they can do this given these limitations, for sure, I should be able to do so.”

For more information about becoming a volunteer driver, contact:

Vineyard Village at Home: vineyardvillage.org/volunteer

MV Connect: assistedrides.com/Info/VolunteerForm/496/0/title/dob/comment

Meals on Wheels: 508-394-4630 or 800-244-4630.