Published: August 31, 2007 02:01 pm      

TOWN OF TONAWANDA: 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion will move

A long list of local non-profit organizations are looking for help getting their services out to the people who need them.

To find those volunteers, Erie County leaders have formed a central referral service to pair potential volunteers with organizations in their area. People with a valid driver’s license can now call 851-5555 to locate what organizations need help and can fit into their schedule of available time.

Ken-Ton Meals on Wheels serves more than 250 meals a day and always needs drivers to get those meals out to the public.

“Each server/driver team has 15 stops, and we have 17 routes,” said Jean Bennett, director of the program. “That means we need 34 drivers or servers each day.”

While volunteers are needed in all areas of the operation, it takes fewer people to prepare the food than to deliver it, placing the larger gap at the delivery end, Bennett said. The time commitment is relatively small and can be done around other activities, Bennett said.

“An hour a day is really all it takes,” she said. “People can even do it on their lunch hour. I do what I do because I love my grandparents and I feel like this lets me look after someone else’s grandparents.”

Dawn Murray, volunteer coordinator for the American Red Cross blood transport program, said her organization needs drivers to deliver much-needed blood to and from storage sites, hospitals and testing facilities.

“Our volunteers transport supplies and blood throughout the Buffalo-Niagara region,” Murray said. “They supply hospitals with daily deliveries and deliver to all of our sites.”

Although the materials being transported are delicate, they’re prepared in such a way that volunteers can handle them safely and with little training, said Sally Stapley, manager of volunteer services for the American Red Cross for the region.

“The blood is carefully packaged and temperature controlled in boxes and coolers,” Stapley said. “Even though in some instances they’re dealing with blood that hasn’t been tested, our volunteers are never exposed to the blood itself.”

Drivers first go through a general orientation, familiarizing themselves with the organization, and then undergo other training if required, Murray said.

Rural Transit Services transports seniors living in rural areas to places like the grocery store or doctor’s office, said Brenda Henderson.

“We have 10 vans and 100 volunteer drivers,” Henderson said. “But we could use 130 drivers to help with the over 20,000 trips per year that we complete.”

Erie County Legislator Bob Reynolds, D-Hamburg, said that getting out to people in his rural district is increasingly a challenge.

“It’s so hard for our drivers to get out and do these routes five days a week,” Reynolds said. “It’s important for us to have those back-up drivers, even if you can only volunteer one day a week.”

Fliers listing the number for the central referral service and organizations that need help can be found at satellite DMV offices, including the Town of Tonawanda location at 169 Sheridan Parkside Drive.

Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.