LAKELAND - After a two-year slowdown due to the COVID pandemic, the Road To Hope program is rolling again for clients in rural northeast Alberta needing transport to medical appointments for cancer treatments.
Road To Hope is a not-for-profit organization that offers rides to clients needing transport to cancer treatments. Based in the Athabasca and Lac La Biche regions, the organization has been providing volunteer drivers to area cancer patients in Lac La Biche County and Athabasca County since 2008. Volunteer drivers use their own vehicles, or drive clients in the organization's designated vehicle, offering transport and support. Since the free service began, volunteer drivers put on more than 172,000 kilometres — an average of more than 17,000 kilometres each year.
Over the last two years, however, says Road To Hope coordinator Jessica Wallace, the odometers haven't been spinning as much ... but they're starting to.
Getting back behind the driver's seats starting last August, Road To Hope volunteers have started to see clients slowly return. In the first three months of 2022, the wheels are moving even more.
"So far this quarter... we have had 16 trips which totals 7,587 kilometres," says Wallace, who began with the organization last July, just as many of the restrictive measures were being removed across the province. "In just three months we have surpassed what we accomplished in the last half of 2021."
Support
Although the driving was affected by pandemic protocols that restricted close-contact between clients and volunteers, community contact with the organization continues to grow.
Wallace says several donations and growing support from all corners of the region continues to help clients and volunteers as they build-back service levels.
The Lac La Biche Kinsmen purchased a van dedicated to Road To Hope rides and list the organization as one of their top funding recipients, and the Angels in Motion, a volunteer group based in the village of Boyle, recently donated gift cards and a $500 cash gift to Road To Hope. The Angels group were formerly the community's Santa's Anonymous, but they saw a need to spread their goodwill over the rest of the year.
Wallace says their $500 cash donation will help to cover the costs of two round-trip rides to Edmonton.
Another donation came from a Grassland woman who is part of the Thirty-One Gifts program. Wallace said she and a group of women put together 20 tote bags for female Road to Hope clients filled with comfort items.
Athabasca's Blue Heron Society recently donated $550 from the Athabasca Bottle Depot, collected from their customers who donated bottle refunds to Road To Hope. Another area business donated Wild Prairie Soap foot balms to be added to client travel bags to bring some relief to tired and sore feet.
Run is back
Along with the individual donations and the steady return to full-service, Wallace says this year will also see the return of the Run For Hope family fundraiser at Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park in Lac La Biche County. The run was sidelined for the last two years due to COVID restrictions, but Wallace says it will return on Saturday, May 28. The run has been a significant fundraiser over the years, seeing community members and supporters raise pledge support for a family-friendly run, walk or ride through the boreal splendour of the island provincial park.
"Pull out those running shoes and hats and let's have some fun," said Wallace, adding that the annual Road To Hope golf tournament at the Athabasca Golf and Country Club is also in the very early planning stages. That event, about to enter its 14th year, is slated for September. More details will be made available in the coming weeks.
Volunteer-driven
Events, fundraisers, organizational roles and of course the drivers are all made possible by volunteer supports, Wallace said — and like most things over the last few years of the pandemic, that support system has been affected as well. She hopes to welcome more volunteers to the organization to help community members who need that support. Road To Hope is holding its annual general meeting on Wednesday, April 27, where new faces are always welcome. Membership to Road To Hope is $5 and can be paid through an e-transfer to [email protected] or by cheque mailed to Road To Hope Box 182, Athabasca, Alberta T9S 2A3.
Wallace says the AGM will also allow new board members to be appointed to executive positions and the six current director seats. The overall hope, she says is that driver's seats and board seats will be filled.
In the organization's latest newsletter, several testimonials from clients have been published. The real-life, heart-felt comments speak to the volunteers, community support, administrators and drivers.
My name is Ricky Nault and I am a cancer patient and survivor. I was diagnosed with cancer in 2015. I went through vigorous treatments at the cross cancer for 1 1/2 years. During my recovery and chemo-maintenance treatments, pick up of chemo, blood tests and support, Road to Hope has been a big part of my recovery and still are. It has been amazing and I am so grateful that this service exists. I thank everyone involved in Road to Hope, especially the drivers.
They are godsends in people's most vulnerable needs. Thank you and God bless you all.
Wallace admits that the role that Road To Hope plays is part of a difficult time for clients and families, and can be bitter-sweet — but the service is essential to help community members in need.
"We are so pleased that we were able to help so many people in their time of need," she said, explaining it as a simple service that can reduce the stresses of a difficult time. "We will get the client from their door, to their appointment, and back home, at no cost to them."
For information on donations, volunteer and for the client ride services, the Road To Hope offices can be reached by phone at 780-327-9442.
