Jenna Carrens

Services Coordinator

Jenna joined us in September and is also the founder of local non-profit, Attendance Records, which is dedicated to bringing creativity back into schools by connecting teachers and students with local writers, artists and musicians.

Janet Allen Executive Director

Janet has been director since 2010. She can help you or your family find necessary geriatric services.

Merry Christmas - Happy Hanukkah - Happy

Holidays!

Year-round Season of Giving It  has  been  said  that  sometimes  we  give  and  sometimes  we  receive;  Drive  a  Senior  involves  both.    

Gift  of  autonomy  –  Volunteers  help  non-­‐driving  seniors  get  around  and  stay  independent.    

Gift  of  value-­‐  We  value  our  Seniors  AND  our  Volunteers.  Each  make  a  difference  in  the  lives  of  others.  

Gift  of  connection  –  We  enrich  lives  by  connecting  seniors  and  volunteers  in  our  community  (this  is  our  mission  statement).    

Gift  of  community  –  Our  community  is  better  because  of  the  intergenerational  interactions  and  experiences  we  provide.    

Bless  you,  during  this  Holiday  Season  and  year  round!  

D R I V E A S E N I O R - S W A U S T I N

W I N T E R 2 0 1 4

Tis the season to shop. You can support Drive a Senior–SW with every purchase you make through Amazon Smile and it won’t cost you a penny.

Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to us whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.

Simply key in: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/26-2735793 or search for Drive a Senior when you log-on. To donate, purchases must be made through the smile program (free sign up).

Rider Spotlight No one doubts that Phyllis Doak is a U.T. fan! Almost always decked out in her favorite color (burnt orange, of course). Her car was burnt orange, she carries a Longhorn bag , wears Longhorn sunglasses and even has Texas shoes—let’s just say, she’s easy to spot! Phyllis has lived in Austin for 30 years, but developed a love for Austin while attending U.T. She became a Drive a Senior rider after another rider from the Riverbend seniors group told her about us. Phyllis says the Drive a Senior volunteers are so friendly, without whom she wouldn't get to go the places she likes to go.

Game DayThanks to volunteer Debbie Herold and Westlake United Methodist Church for sponsoring a recent game day for our seniors. We loved the inter-generational game playing.

IMPORTANT DATES

To give our volunteers time

with their families, our

office is closed December 23-

January 4.

Call before Dec. 20th to schedule rides for the week

of Jan 5-10

Volunteers - we may still have a few

essential rides for clients with no other

options so please check online if you

want to help.

Drive a Senior - SW Austin Stats

Enrolled 40 new clients Recruited 72 new volunteers Gave over 2500 point-to-point rides to seniors Drove seniors over 29,000 miles Donated over 3400 volunteer hours to our community

Together we make a difference in each other’s lives.

Help us keep our services free- here are some easy ways to give!

Volunteer spotlight Billie Gurkin is a lifelong and an extraordinary volunteer. So far in 2014, Billie has made 294 trips and driven 2700 miles. In a typical week she assists three to five seniors and hears many stories. She’s been a Drive a Senior volunteer for four years.

Billie is a retired computer technology supervisor and has lived in Austin for almost 50 years (but says she is still an Aggie fan!) She is married and her three daughters and four grandchildren live nearby. She enjoys traveling, volunteering, gardening, reading, cooking, walking and attending the grandkids various school and sports activities. She makes time to visit with friends and family and hosts an annual grandkids camp at her cabin in Colorado.

Billie knows how to balance her life; she spends about half her summers in Colorado, escaping the Texas summer heat and also regularly travels abroad.

When asked about her experiences with Drive a Senior, Billie says she enjoys getting to know the clients and listening to all their fabulous stories; the things they’ve done in their life, their travels, jobs, families, and places they’ve lived. She says volunteering with Drive a Senior is worthwhile and rewarding. Volunteers immediately see the results of their efforts.

Assisted Rides scheduling makes it easy to find volunteer opportunities and you can sign up for as many, or as few, rides as your personal schedule allows. Billie says she’s just “paying it forward.” At this rate, she needs to plan on a long, long life!

Let your old vehicle (working or non-working) help keep non-driving seniors mobile!

Donate your car, truck, boat or RV and the proceeds go to Drive a Senior-SW. Your donation is tax deductible.

Contact Charitable Auto Recycling at 866-398-5995 or carstrucksandboats.com

Free Towing and DMV/IRS information

12531

Gold Star Award

Sponsoring Congregations

Westlake United Methodist St. John Neumann Catholic

LifeAustin Westlake Hills Presbyterian

Riverbend Oak Hill United Methodist

St. Michael’s Episcopal

Community Sponsors & Grantors

St. Davids Foundation Texas Department of Transportation

Favrot Fund Stratus Properties

National Charity League Randall’s Good Neighbor Program # 12531

Board members

Mary Sue Clyne, President Myron Mixon, Treasurer Kerri Oswald, Secretary

Mary Pat Smith Sherri Patten Ginny Murphy

Mickey Goldwater

Office Wish List Postage Stamps

Birthday cards

HEB gift cards for needy clients

Drive a Senior - SW enriches lives by connecting seniors and volunteers in our community.

Your donation helps us serve more seniors!

3801 N. Capital of Texas Hwy #E240-77, Austin, TX 78746 www.driveasenior.org 512-364-6501

Helpful Reminders For Riders: • Contact us with your appointments as

early as possible-we can put appointments on the schedule months in advance.

• Respect your volunteer’s time and schedule all your stops in advance; volunteer’s usually have time limits.

For Volunteers: • Call clients when you sign up for a

ride so they don’t worry about not having a ride.

• Close out your rides online and let us know if you do additional trips or stops.

Sighted on vehicles all over town:Need your garage floor refinished? New Garage Floors restores and coats new floors or old floors with epoxy paint. They donate 15% to your favorite charity. Our volunteers told us this company does an excellent job. Call Mark at 512-554-4913 for more info.

Inclement Weather closings:

If the AISD or EISD delays or closes schools, our volunteers will most likely operate on the same schedule. Volunteers are responsible to call clients if driving conditions are not good.