To Our Valued Volunteers:
As we reflect on 2024, we want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude for your commitment to improving the community. Your efforts have made a significant impact. It is thanks to volunteers like you, we are able to achieve so much.
In 2024, you helped provide over 700 rides with over 1000 volunteer hours. Of those 700 rides, we had over 70 unique riders. Because of you, community members have been able to access their medical care such as cancer treatments, dialysis, and medical procedures. We had multiple community members who you helped access physical therapy, giving them a chance to recover from an injury or surgery so they could regain their independence and be able to drive again. In addition to helping community members access medical care, you helped them stay involved in the lives of their family and friends as well as in the community. Community members were able to see the holiday lights, volunteer at local nonprofits, visit their loved ones in the hospital and long-term care facilities, celebrate their family members, and so much more. In addition to rides, volunteers have provided community members with fraud awareness education and social visits.
Your support has meant the world to us and the community members receiving assistance. One community member said, "I don't know what I would do without this service. It allows you to get out of the home and still be independent getting to the places I need." We hear this same sentiment from so many community members when they call looking for assistance. However, community members are not only benefiting from receiving access to where they need to go. They also enjoy spending time with you. When we ask community members what their most memorable moments are with HIRTA Helps, we receive so many quotes similar to these: "They are like a second family to me" and "the volunteers are people I would love to call friends".
We are incredibly fortunate to have such a passionate and devoted group of volunteers. You've shown kindness, generosity, and a strong desire to make a positive difference in the community. Your contributions, both big and small, have helped us grow and achieve things we couldn't have done alone.
As we start this new year, we want to express our heartfelt thanks. We are truly grateful for each and every one of you. We look forward to continuing to work together in bringing even more positive change to our community in the year ahead. May 2025 be filled with new opportunities to make a difference, and may we continue to grow stronger as a team. Thank you again for all that you do - you truly make the world a better place, one ride at a time.
Wishing you a wonderful and fulfilling New Year!
With sincere appreciation,
Mildred Chihak
HIRTA Helps Volunteer Coordinator
