SUNDRE — A service initially introduced more than two decades ago to provide transportation for seniors and people with reduced mobility has since spanned out to cater to all ages and community groups.
The Sundre Community Van Society is a non-profit organization run by a volunteer board of directors who work with volunteers to, for a minimal cost, offer rides to see the doctor, go shopping or get mail at the post office.
“That’s basically what they started the community van for, was for seniors and people with disabilities that needed a ride to appointments, etcetera,” said Leah Evanochko, treasurer.
While the society continues to offer the weekly Thursday drives to for example medical appointments and the grocery store, Evanochko said the community van now also caters to a much wider demographic.
“We have really branched out,” she said, adding the van has been booked by many community groups including the Sundre West Country Centre as well as the Greenwood Neighbourhood Place Society and the new Sundre Youth Centre known as The Den, with a group of youth recently travelling to Olds to go bowling.
“We’ve also got a lot of weekends booked with safe drives (for events such as weddings). That’s been a bit of proceeds coming in for us, because we’re a non-profit. So, that’s helped us with our maintenance,” she said.
“It’s all ages, really,” she said. “Anybody can rent it, as long as we can find drivers.”
Some of the organizers of safe drive events provide their own driver as the van only requires a Class 5 licence. But prior to allowing them to get behind the wheel, the society requires a clean abstract and criminal record check as well as vulnerable sector check, she said.
Busy summer ahead following pandemic lull
And compared to the last couple of years of pandemic restrictions that essentially brought the van’s operations to a grinding halt, the summer ahead seems poised to be quite busy.
“It was very, very slow,” Evanochko said about the past two-plus years, adding the van “was parked a lot of the time.”
But that situation has since changed dramatically for the better.
“It’s picked up in the last couple months and the summer is largely booked,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of things going on in the summer already. And of course that requires a lot of volunteers.”
Leading up to the society’s May 11 annual general meeting, there had been concerns that an insufficient number of board members would step in to ensure the van’s sustained operation.
Fortunately, through promotion in GNP’s monthly newsletter, the society was able to generate interest from five people, of whom four attended the annual meeting.
“And two of them signed up,” she said, adding the board now has seven members, which is roughly on par with previous years, including a new chairperson.
Now among the society’s past presidents, Lee Kolstad was one of several board members who stepped down. But stepping up to fill the position of chair was Jack Goodall, who also serves as a volunteer driver.
“We definitely have a pretty good base for board members,” she said, adding efforts to recruit nevertheless remain ongoing.
“We’ve been just putting it out that we’re still looking for board members and always looking for volunteers.”
Saving up for a new bus
Asked how sustainable the van’s continued operation is at this time, Evanochko said the challenge ahead lies largely in the lack of adequate numbers of volunteers. But potentially complicating matters further is the society’s intention to buy a new van to replace the aging 2009 model that was bought brand new for about $86,000, she said.
“It needs to be replaced; it’s starting to have a lot of major issues,” she said, adding an equivalent van today costs around $136,000.
“We don’t know if we’ll be able to replace it. So, we’ve put out some feelers in the community to see about donations or sponsorship of some sort.”
But the society has in anticipation of the purchase already began to set aside a reserve fund.
“We’ve been putting money aside,” she said. “We have about $25,000 to $30,000 saved to put toward a new van.”
Above and beyond donations and fundraisers, the society also receives grants from the Town of Sundre and Mountain View County.
“The Town of Sundre gives us a $7,000 grant every year,” she said. “Mountain View County – if we apply in time, which we missed this year because everything was so up in the air – they give us around $2,000. We’ve not been turned down, we just missed the (deadline).”
Reviewing figures presented during the recent annual meeting, Evanochko said the society’s total expenses in 2021 were more than $23,000, with a total income of about $20,000, representing a net loss of more than $3,000, she said.
More than a mode of transportation
In the event there weren’t enough board members, the society would unfortunately have to fold, she said.
“We wouldn’t be able to carry it,” she said, adding that all volunteer organizations are experiencing a similar situation.
“It’s getting very difficult to sponsor all the programs and everything when we don’t have the people to back it up and the volunteers that are there are getting worn so thin that we’re going to start losing them.”
That’s a scenario Evanochko wants to avoid.
“There’s so many people – especially during COVID that were shut in for so long – I just would hate to see the service leave because so many people rely on it. It’s an outing for them,” she said, adding all of the community groups would also no longer have transportation to attend functions and field trips.
But the van is more than just a mode of transport, Evanochko stressed, adding it also provides people – and especially seniors –with an important opportunity to connect with others and socialize.
“A lot of them don’t drive anymore. And it’s kind of nice to be able to go somewhere and do something fun,” she said.
“I would hate to see it lost to the community because I really do think it’s a vital program. It would just be a shame to lose it.”
