LAC LA BICHE – The Road to Hope community support foundation is on the lookout for more volunteer drivers in the Lac La Biche area, says coordinator Jessica Wallace.
The non-profit organization provides free transportation to cancer patients in Athabasca and Lac La Biche, helping them get to cancer-related appointments.
“We are in dire need of more drivers in the Lac La Biche area with only four active at the moment,” Wallace told Lakeland This Week on May 8. “Two of them are currently working full-time jobs and will take personal days off to assist us, which is really extraordinary.”
Road to Hope has seven drivers in Athabasca County, and these volunteers assist with transporting patients from the Lac La Biche area when they can. However, this increases the number of kilometres the drivers put on their vehicles, says Wallace.
In a bid to get more people from Lac La Biche interested in joining as volunteer drivers, Road to Hope has attended local trade shows and markets, along with other community events.
Going to these functions gives the organization a chance to talk to people and explain what is involved in being a driver - which comes with some benefits.
“They can claim mileage expenses and the schedules are very flexible,” she said.
Currently, Road to Hope has 17 registered clients in the Boyle, Plamondon, and Lac La Biche areas and another 22 in the Athabasca area. Some of these clients may use the service for a one-off appointment, while others require transportation regularly.
In recent years, there has been an increased demand for the transportation service. Between 2023 and 2024 there was a significant jump in the number of trips Road to Hope made, says Wallace.
The organization is seeing that increase holding steady after the first quarter of the year.
“Together in 2024 we hit 247 trips and just over 93,000 km driven,” she stated.
As for the criteria that must be met before clients are approved by the Road to Hope foundation, Wallace says they must live in either Lac La Biche County or Athabasca County and have been diagnosed with cancer. Appointments must also be cancer related.
Prospective clients can fill out an intake form and then contact Wallace. The client form is available by getting in touch with the coordinator at either 780-327-9442 or [email protected].
“It is absolutely heartwarming to know how much of an impact we have on alleviating stress from their already stressful situations,” she says.
Like other community organizations, Road to Hope also puts on fundraising events throughout the year. The second annual Spring Scramble is set to take place at the Lac La Biche Golf Course on June 26.
“With the construction happening at the Lac La Biche Golf Course, we will only be playing on the Back 9, but the decision was made to run through twice to give that 18-hole experience still,” Wallace explains.
For this year’s Spring Scramble, golfers can expect the same calibre of games, volunteers, prizes and food as the inaugural event, although hopefully with nicer weather this time.
“The weather was not great, but the day itself was awesome. Everyone had fun regardless of getting soaking wet,” she says.
Road to Hope raised $10,000 through the inaugural golf tournament last June. With an average client trip to appointments costing $265, the funds helped cover about 37 trips.
In September, the organization will also be hosting its 15th annual Golf Classic in Athabasca.
