My name is Paul Nute and I run the RRHAT (Rangeley Region Health Appointment Transportation) Van program, a volunteer-based transportation service taking needy and elderly people in and around Rangeley to health-related appointments throughout Maine.

This is an absolutely vital program as there are at least 25-30 people, mostly elderly, that simply would not be able to live in this wonderful place if it were not for our program getting them to their doctor appointments. Sadly, we live in a society that often sort of “forgets about” elderly people, despite the fact that they are among the most vulnerable in the community.

I am sorry to say, but our program has lost a handful of year-round volunteers over the past couple of months and now of course the summer-resident volunteers will start falling away which will leave us with a bare bones group this fall and beyond.

Please consider volunteering for our program. The town of Rangeley owns and maintains the vehicle we use and pays for the insurance and gas. All we are asking for is your time and willingness to drive. It’s not a heavy volunteer commitment as most of our drivers go out between zero and two times per month. The commitment level can be as much or as little as a volunteer would like – some drive less than once per month.

Speaking from experience I can tell you that the best part of being a RRHAT Van volunteer is getting to spend time with these amazing people that we serve. As most are elderly, they have lifetimes of stories and insights to share on these trips. I am at times humbled, thinking how much I think that I have the world figured out, only to spend a few hours in the car with a person some decades older than me who is so much more wise!

Since I took over running this program last November, not a single time I have not had to turn a person down who needed a ride because there wasn’t a volunteer available.  Not once! Please help me to keep this record perfect by joining our list of volunteers and being ready to take a few hours per month to get some of the most wonderful treasures in this community to their doctor’s appointments. I can certainly say that I’ll be so lucky to have a program like this to serve me when I am older and can no longer drive.

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