I clearly remember my late friend Emily Lineback talking about the importance to her of the Ardmore Transportation Ministry.
Not familiar with the ministry at the time, I asked her if the purpose was to provide transportation in times of emergency.
“Yes,” she told me. “It certainly was an emergency for me last week. I couldn’t drive, and I needed to get my hair fixed before church on Sunday.”
After more than 40 years of service to clients age 62 and above in the Ardmore neighborhood in Winston-Salem, transportation to the beauty parlor is still one of the services provided by Ardmore Transportation Ministry. However, most of the trips are for visits to medical doctors, dentists and the grocery store. Twenty-four hours of notice is needed.
Larry Martin, who leads the group, says that volunteers take people for appointments in the area around Wake Forest Baptist Hospital and Forsyth Memorial but that some trips go as far as medical offices in the Jonestown Road area.
“The transportation service has been a saving grace for many elderly people,” Martin said. “For some there are no other real options. They may have no family in the area, and many of them cannot afford the cost of a taxi.”
Jan Wilson, another long-time volunteer, said, “Every community should have a service like this.”
Volunteers from Ardmore United Methodist Church, Ardmore Baptist Church and Highland Presbyterian church handle the program. They pay all of the expenses themselves. Some volunteers respond to phone calls and schedule trips while others provide the transportation. The office is open daily 10 a.m. until noon to accept calls.
Martin and Wilson said they would like to see other neighborhood churches join them and that they could use additional volunteers to answer the phones and provide transportation. For more information, call Martin at 336-765-1680 or the office at 336-722-5686.
Jerry McLeese
Compassionate WS 