Volunteers Needed: Local Organization Provides Free Transportation to Edwardsville Seniors

EDWARDSVILLE - A local program that provides free transportation to seniors is seeking volunteers.

Faith in Action organizes volunteers to drive seniors to the grocery store, the bank, their appointments, and similar spots across the Greater St. Louis area. Alex Gambrill, FIA program assistant, noted that many of these seniors would have no transportation without FIA. Now, they need volunteers to help.

“I mean, a lot of our clients would just be stuck,” she said. “It just kind of sunk in for me that there are all of these senior citizens that are just lonely. It’s fragile because they’re alone, they can’t get help, they can’t get out, they can’t go anywhere. And I just want to help them. I want to be able to get them resources and get them connected within the community.”

FIA, which is not religiously affiliated, is a nationwide nonprofit with over 1,000 chapters. The Edwardsville/Glen Carbon chapter serves seniors over age 60 who are living in the Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7. Seniors must be mobile and able to independently transfer in and out of cars.

When you sign up to volunteer, you’ll undergo a background check and watch a training video. Volunteers receive an email every morning with information about the day’s volunteer opportunities. You can choose when and how often you provide transportation to local seniors. FIA will reimburse you for mileage.

Gambrill quickly found that many of these seniors rely on FIA to survive. She tells the story of one woman with a history of seizures, which bars her from driving. Her family members are in long-term care facilities. Without FIA, she wouldn’t be able to get groceries, pay her bills, or visit her loved ones.

“It’s huge. If she is not being transported by us, she is not leaving home,” Gambrill said. “Imagine living the end of your life out at home alone by yourself. It just sucks. It’s scary. It’s sad.”

FIA is determined not to let this happen to any local seniors. Volunteers often go above and beyond to make sure seniors get where they need to be and experience the community connection they deserve.

Gambrill remembers meeting a man whose wife is on life support in a long-term care facility. He utilizes FIA five days a week to visit her. One day, a volunteer decided to take him out to lunch instead of going straight home. He now has “that support, that community, that he was lacking.”

FIA is “just like a ride service,” though free and targeted toward seniors. But for the volunteers and the clients, it goes beyond that. It’s the difference between isolation and community.

Gambrill said they are currently “really struggling” to get the volunteers they need to provide this service to local seniors. If you’d like to sign up as a volunteer, or if you’d like to learn more about receiving transportation as a client, visit the official website of the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon chapter of Faith in Action at FIAEGC.org.

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