The Driver – September 2020

Jerry Reardon: Recently retired Director of Clinical Reporting Services for the Chesapeake Regional Information System for Patients (CRISP), a regional health information exchange (HIE) serving Maryland and the District of Columbia.

 Bita Dayhoff: President of the Community Action Council of Howard County (CAC), which serves low-income residents through four core program areas including food assistance, energy and weatherization assistance, housing assistance, and early childhood education.

 Patrick Higgins: Co-founder of Howard Tech Advisors, a leading provider of technology services to business and non-profit customers in the Baltimore-Washington region.

“We are excited to add this trio of talented new board members who bring the expertise Neighbor Ride is seeking to advance our mission. More and more Neighbor Ride finds itself at the intersection of aging, access to senior services, and transportation. Bita has a long history of building partnerships to address community needs through her leadership of CAC and will help Neighbor Ride continue to build out and expand on our 15 years of community service. Technology is an underpinning of Neighbor Ride’s operations. Patrick helps organizations leverage technology to advance their mission and we will look to leverage his expertise on this front. Finally, the majority of the rides we provide are for medical services. Jerry’s extensive accomplishments across the health care sector will help us to better serve our client passengers and the public health of our community which is even more critical while the COVID-19 pandemic continues around us.” – Bruce Fulton, Executive Director

State of Neighbor Ride

As September begins and we enter the seventh month of the continuing pandemic, Neighbor Ride remains as committed as ever to supporting the health and well-being of Howard County’s older adults through our volunteer-based transportation services. While Neighbor Ride has not experienced anything as daunting as the past months during our sixteen year history, the idea of “Neighbors” serving “Neighbors” has stood strong. Our volunteers continue to “DRIVE” and now “DELIVER” our organization to serve our older adult community. While many volunteers have needed to adjust or suspend their driving based on their personal circumstances, Neighbor Ride has continued to be able to meet current demand as well as to expand into food delivery.

Neighbor Ride has been fortunate to receive tremendous support from the community during the pandemic – from stepped up financial support from volunteers, local organizations like Rotary Clubs, and local businesses like our bank, to a grant from the new Youth in Philanthropy Fund at the Community Foundation of Howard County. Additional emergency grant support has been received from both State programs and local resources like HoCo Responds and the Healthy Howard Alliance Fund, housed at the Community Foundation and run by a committee chaired by the County Health Officer. Neighbor Ride has also forged deeper relationships with existing partners in the county, including both the County Government, with a contract for meal deliveries, and the Community Action Council, with which we are partnering on the delivery of groceries to Food Bank clients. New opportunities continue to emerge and we look forward to expanding the ways in which we can serve the transportation-related needs of Howard County seniors.

While the current situation is challenging for all, we are reminded of and so thankful for the tremendous investment of time and support our volunteers have put into Neighbor Ride over the years. It is because of your year-in and year-out dedication to Neighbor Ride as volunteers (and truly a testament to your efforts) that all the support outlined above came Neighbor Ride’s way to help us navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.  

                                                                Respectfully yours,      

                                                                Bruce                           

How You Can Help

DONATE online. Our mission continues during this time of crisis.  We are there for Howard County seniors – answering their calls, continuing to get them to their essential medical appointments, and expanding our services to include food delivery to better address food insecurity in our community during this pandemic. Your donation ensures that seniors in our community continue to have access to the vital services and resources they need.

Between April and July 2020

You helped make a difference in your community!

Help Spread the Word!

Neighbor Ride is taking the lead in ensuring that seniors get their flu shots this year. Volunteer Drivers are needed to support this critically important, 100 day initiative. Interested individuals can contact us at volunteer@neighborride.org.