Cross Blog

Category: Transportation

A day with Red Cross Transportation Services

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Red Cross Transportation Services provide residents living in Mecklenburg and South Iredell counties free transportation to and from critical medical appointments.  There were 17,145 rides provided by more than 70 volunteers last year.

Coy Powell, a Red Cross volunteer driver for more than four years, said one of the most important qualities in a driver is being flexible.  Powell said some people may complain and want no assistance, while others are excited to see him.  He said it is their choice to receive assistance.  “We assist where we can; we do not force ourselves.”

Powell said his favorite element about this service is meeting different people.  He said he enjoys to hear their life experiences, where they have been and what they have done.  While volunteering at the Red Cross, Powell met a client that had coached baseball at his former high school when he had attended.

While on his route Thursday, Jan. 28, Powell picked up Lula Stewart, who moved to Charlotte in 1992.  Stewart has been using this service once a month for more than two years.  She said she enjoys the atmosphere, company and a pleasant drive with conversation.  Stewart’s most memorable moment was her second ride with the Red Cross.  No volunteer drivers were available to pick her up from her doctor visit, so Betty Burton, the scheduling coordinator, picked her up.  Stewart said she was amazed at how courteous Burton was.

The second client for Powell was Christine Leach, who has been in Charlotte since 1963.  Leach has been using this service twice a week for four or five years.  She said the drivers are very nice to her, and they always help her in and out of the car.  Leach said, “I could not ask for a better ride.”

The third client for Powell was Horace Matthews, who has been in Charlotte since 1962.  Matthews has been using this service twice a week for five years.  He said he likes the drivers, who are on time no matter what.  Matthews said laughing, “They need to be paid!”

Need transportation services or want to be a volunteer driver?

Transportation Volunteers honored at luncheon

Monday, June 29, 2009

Photo caption: Richard Nice, a resident at Shads Landing, tells luncheon guests about how the Red Cross transports him to and from his critical dialysis appointments multiple times a week.

On Thursday, June 25, the wonderful staff and residents at Shads Landing, a retirement facility in Charlotte, held an appreciation luncheon for the Greater Carolinas Chapter Transportation Services Program.

Volunteers with the Transportation Services Program have been transporting several Shads Landing residents to and from their critical medical appointments - at no cost to the residents.

Cindy Brinson, manager at Shads Landing, thanked the Red Cross staff and volunteers, noting that the program has had a profound effect on the residents there.

Luncheon guests enjoyed a wonderful meal featuring filet, asparagus and raspberry white chocolate cheesecake.

“We could not do what we do without our wonderful volunteers,” said Sandra Peake, operations manager of the Red Cross Transportation Services Program. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

Learn more about the Red Cross Transportation Services Program and how you can get involved.
More pictures from Shads Landing

Riding the Wheels of Independence

Monday, January 12, 2009

With more than 2 million people living in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area, traffic can be daunting. Margaret Houston said she doesn’t even like driving on some of Charlotte’s busiest roads.

It’s seniors like Houston that have prompted a new program, “Wheels of Independence,” at the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the American Red Cross.

The program, formed in conjunction with the Shamrock Senior Center, provides a round trip from the senior center at 3925 Willard Farrow Drive, Charlotte, to the Wal-Mart Super Center at 1830 Galleria Boulevard, Matthews. The trip costs only $5.

Sandra Peake, transportation operations manager for the chapter, helps coordinate more than 17,000 trips per year for residents living in Mecklenburg and South Iredell counties who have no other means of transportation to important medical appointments. When she saw the need to expand the existing Transportation Program, she jumped on it.

“We’ve begun, on a very small scale, picking up seniors at a congregant site and transporting them to Wal-Mart, which allows them the opportunity to purchase prescription medication and some other basic items during their two-hour shopping trip. My hope, in the near future, is to be doing this on a larger scale,” Peake said.

These pre-planned, bi-weekly trips are in two two-hour shifts on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1- 3:30 p.m.

“For me it was worth it because I don’t like driving on Independence Boulevard, and it was convenient,” praised Margaret Houston, one of the first participants to experience Wheels of Independence.

To learn how you can sign up and catch a ride, call the Red Cross at 704.347.8210 or send an e-mail to .