City Volunteer Week Supports Ride Connection

Ride Connection has recruited the help of the City of Forest Grove to boost volunteerism in the area in order to better serve its residents with much-needed transportation for older adults and people with disabilities.

Through a partnership with the city and the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center, a new location was acquired to boost the access to transportation in the area, but the new location hasn’t resulted in an immediate increase in volunteers for the program. In its first months of operation, the Forest Grove-based volunteer program has only been able to provide 23% of the rides requested.

Enter “City Volunteer Week”: a formal call to Forest Grove city officials and employees for help with volunteering to drive or act as concierge. This was done with the hopes that the city’s dedication to the organization’s efforts will spark an interest among many others.

“We are thrilled to have the city’s support for this initiative. They’ve been a crucial component in making this service successful,” says Jessica Giles, Service Specialist for Ride Connection. Mayor Pete Truax says, “ Ride Connection's contribution to the community merits our enthusiastic support of and participation in this initiative. Hopefully, this will springboard into greater community involvement with Ride Connection." Already, six city officials and employees have committed to volunteer their time for the unique week: Mayor Pete Truax, Councilor Tom BeLusko, Councilor Ron Thompson and from the Police Department, Captain Jeff Williams, Captain Aaron Ashbaugh and Chief of Police, Kerry Aleshire.

The time commitment for volunteers varies, ranging anywhere from a one-way ride that takes an hour to a full day. We’re able to take into account work and personal timetables and plan our driving schedules accordingly. A volunteer could provide a ride in their personal vehicle or one of our agency vehicles. In addition, a person could either volunteer as a driver or as an escort/concierge.

City Volunteer Week runs from October 11-15. Ride Connection service hours are 8:30am-4:00pm. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Jessica Giles at 503.359.1671 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .