Washington Window: May 2007: Van ministry is ‘still growing, still going’

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By Lucy Chumbley
Washington Window
Vol. 76, No. 6, May 2007

Last November, the St. Philip's Senior Van Ministry celebrated its 10th anniversary with a "Still growing, still going" party at its home parish of St. Philip's, Baden.

Since then, the ministry has provided more than 500 rides to seniors in southern Prince George's County, transporting them to medical appointments, food pantries and the like.

"We clock a lot of miles," said the program's chairwoman Millicent Mason.

The ministry began in1996 when the now defunct St. Philip's Women's Guild provided start-up funds for a van to be used to transport seniors who could not drive for medical reasons, did not own a vehicle or had never driven to various appointments, Mason said.

In 2001, the ministry received a grant from the Maryland Department of Transportation to purchase a replacement vehicle - a white Chevrolet minibus, which has room for 10 passengers and two wheelchairs.

To request a ride, the approximately 200 registered users must call the program coordinator, Margaret Johnson, between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each weekday. If they are not already registered, Johnson asks them a series of questions to determine their eligibility, then enters their names in the database.

"We are not on demand, we are on call," said Mason, who explained that due to the distances traveled, rides must be requested at least 24 hours in advance.

Drivers receive their schedules the previous evening, and usually pick up their first passenger at around 9 a.m. There are regular riders, many of whom travel to dialysis appointments, and occasional riders, such as residents of the Brandywine Senior Center, who sometimes organize outings to a local bowling alley.

For many of the housebound clients, riding the van is a welcome opportunity to get out of the house, Mason said, even if their destination is a medical appointment.

"They so look forward to seeing that van pull up outside their house - their families look forward to it - because it does so much to improve their mood," she said. "It's sort of like a social outing just being on the van and going to and from their medical appointments."

While many of the regular riders are in poor health, they are not given to complaining, Mason said.
"They talk about their families, their children, their grandchildren" she said. "There's very little talk about what ails them."

The van ministry costs about $40,000 a year, and most of the operating budget is supplemented by Episcopal Senior Ministries, Mason said. To raise funds for the program, the St. Philip's Senior Van Advisory Council holds an annual appeal, sending letters out to the community. As well as Episcopalians from St. Philip's and St. Paul's, Piney, in Waldorf, representatives from local Catholic and Methodist churches and representatives from Greater Baden Medical Services, with which the ministry has a partnership, also serve on the advisory council.

While most of the riders are low income - although that is not one of the program's requirements - many send small donations, Mason said. And as a gesture of support last year, each of the members of the advisory council made a $100 contribution.

As the van gets older - it has already clocked 149,000 miles - maintenance becomes more costly, Mason said.

"We're in the process of applying for a new vehicle but there's no guarantee," she said. "Hopefully we will get a new van, because the maintenance on these vans is quite a bit."

The need is always there, she said, and the van performs an important service.

"We see ourselves as having a long life ahead of us. As far as getting new riderships, every month we pick up new riders," she said. "There's always room for more. We do see our ridership increasing and we expect to be there as long as needed.

"These people need us, and as long as they need us, we plan to be there."

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