Neighbor Ride

Susan Thompson, Executive Director

8808 Centre Park Drive, #108
Columbia Maryland 21045
410-884-3616
www.neighborride.org

NEIGHBOR RIDE is a transportation alternative for Howard County's older residents. Because a significant number of older Americans no longer drive, they often stay at home, cutting themselves off from the activities and interaction that provide quality to their lives. Neighbor Ride is a volunteer based, non-profit, supplemental transportation program serving Howard County Residents age 60 and older. Started in November, 2004 with start-up funding from the Horizon Foundation, the organization’s goal is to help local seniors maintain a good quality of life by providing friendly and reliable door-to-door transportation for medical appointments, religious services, educational pursuits, recreation and social events, exercise classes, personal business, shopping and other day-to-day activities.

Currently, nine volunteer ride coordinators work weekly shifts in the office handling ride requests from seniors while eighty-seven volunteer drivers commit three to four-hour blocks of time during the day, evening, or on weekends to providing transportation in their personal vehicles for senior passengers. To date, Neighbor Ride’s volunteers have scheduled and provided nearly 4000 trips for 430 registered Howard County seniors with three to five new seniors registering each week.

Most recently through its Strategic Initiatives Program, the Horizon Foundation is providing Neighbor Ride with the needed support to hire a part-time volunteer coordinator to enable the organization to recruit and manage more volunteer drivers and ride coordinators, including volunteers from various ethnic groups within our community, which will enhance the capacity to continue, expand and improve the transportation services to Howard County’s older residents.