About Ride Requests
Overview for Members & Volunteers

See all of our neighbor-helping-neighbor services HERE

“Transportation” was the number one service the surveys of the Wintergreen community identified as being needed to assist those who are aging in place here. There are a number of transportation options that might be developed here. Creating a network of volunteer drivers has worked in other communities where neighbors are aging in place.

Here to Stay in Wintergreen volunteers drivers take members to medical appointments or other necessary destinations such as grocery stores, pharmacies, etc. Typical destinations are as far east of Charlottesville as Pantops, as far north of Charlottesville as the airport; westward perimeters towards Waynesboro and Fishersville, as far west as Augusta Health. Destinations farther away or in other directions are handled on a case-by-case basis.

The steps to arranging a ride
with an HSW volunteer

1. The member communicates the details about when they need a ride and where they need to go by going HERE. The form on this page can be a guide on what to say on a request made by a phone call.) The more notice provided, the better.

2. The transportation coordinator responds to the member with a phone call or email to confirm the request and get any needed details. Being flexible is often useful.

3. The volunteer drivers are notified by HSW via email of the request using the details provided by the member to the coordinator.

4. The volunteer driver calls the member directly to confirm and ask questions. An agreement on specifics is set. It’s usually helpful when members provide the drivers with details about the trip they are requesting.

5. The driver reports via the HSW system that the ride request has been accepted and provides details as appropriate; the system immediately marks the request as “assigned.”

6. The volunteer and member communicate to each other directly about any changes. Afterward, both parties are contacted by HSW by email for a brief follow-up.

The key to making this transportation program work is members planning ahead as much as practical and volunteers being flexible.

Passengers need to be clear about any and all physical limitations. A driver might be limited in how much give physical assistance they can offer.

For example, volunteer drivers are not allowed to drive individuals using a wheelchair but many can work with members who use a walker as long as the passenger can safely transfer to and from their walker and the car.

Volunteers will always ask before helping. A volunteer might ask if the member needs to hold on to their elbow in walking to an appointment, for example.

The volunteer drivers are covered by their own personal insurance coverage as well as by liability coverage carried by Here to Stay in Wintergreen. Before becoming a driver volunteers provide Here to Stay proof of a current driver’s license, liability insurance, and undergo a background check that includes a driving record.

A volunteer driver’s mileage is considered a tax-deductible contribution for tax purposes. Volunteers should maintain their own record of mileage for tax purposes, but Here to Stay in Wintergreen also tracks mileage the volunteers drive serving members as a measure of how the service is used.

Guidelines for all volunteers and members

How HSW members and volunteers
work together, one-on-one

The simple idea behind Here to Stay in Wintergreen is to connect those who have a need for some assistance with neighbors who are willing to volunteer to help. While that idea might be straightforward, life can sometimes become complicated. Some basic rules and guidelines are useful in managing expectations.

While a member’s request and the volunteer’s assistance are neighborly, it’s not informal. Reliability is important to both volunteers and members. The base of most of Here to Stay in Wintergreen’s standards and procedures come from real-world “village programs” developed over the last several years.

Our procedures, guidelines, and rules only outline how it all might work. The key is having everyone involved not only being careful, respectful, and kind but also maintaining a sense of humor.

There are limits

Sometimes simple tasks turn out to be not so simple. Members shouldn’t expect volunteers to do any task that the volunteer lacks confidence in doing. HSW volunteers offer services that coincide with their schedule, interests, and abilities.

When a volunteer determines a service requested by a member requires the expertise of a professional, they can explain this to the member. Go here to see the HSW guide to professional resources.

Volunteer background checks

Due to the often personal nature of the work done by volunteers directly for HSW members, our insurance company recommends requiring a background check of all volunteers who work one on one with members.

Here to Stay in Wintergreen uses a third party, Choice Screening, that provides this service. All information is confidential.

General Guidelines & Rules

  • Discretion on the part of both volunteers and members is key. Both members and volunteers are required to maintain the confidentiality of any proprietary or privileged information to which they are exposed while being served by a volunteer, whether this information involves an HSW member or another volunteer. Personal information should not be shared outside the organization. Both HSW members and volunteers should be careful in their informal conversations with friends and family regarding details of any situation of the individuals in HSW’s program. HSW does not sell, rent, exchange, or share the individual personal information of members or volunteers for use by third parties.

  • Volunteers and members should maintain a friendly professional demeanor, avoiding unnecessary close physical contact when working together. Volunteers and members should avoid offering comments and advice about personal situations.

  • Volunteers and members should not act on behalf of or make statements representing the official position of the organization unless they have been authorized to do so by an officer of the Board of Directors. For example, volunteers should not make statements to the press, broadcast media, or other organizations without prior authorization. No volunteer or member is authorized to sign any agreement involving contractual or financial obligations on behalf of HSW.

  • Members should not offer gifts or tips to HSW volunteers. Volunteers should decline if any are offered.

  • Volunteers are asked to be prompt and reliable in reporting for assignments with members so as to free up HSW resources for others. Members and volunteers should notify HSW promptly of any changes, issues, concerns, or problems.

  • Volunteers may decide to stop volunteering at any time; members are not obligated to participate in any HSW program. Volunteers are asked to inform the HSW office if they cannot continue in any role and give as much notice as possible. To help the organization grow and learn from its experiences, volunteers and members are asked to be candid about their experiences, knowing they can rely on the discretion of the HSW administrators.

  • HSW will dismiss a volunteer or member who fails to fulfill the basic requirements of the organization.