Strand Notebook | Neighbor to Neighbor more than a ride program

Since they can’t drive because of age or disabilities, numerous seniors and adults in parts of Horry and Georgetown counties depend on Grace Ministries’ Neighbor to Neighbor program volunteers for free rides to places they need or want to go.

But the program is not just about rides; it is also about friendship, companionship and much more.

Grace Ministries is a nonprofit organization based at 921 North Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach. While reducing senior isolation and enhancing lives, its staff and volunteers are committed to a value system that includes respect, integrity, dignity, excellence and service.

Last year, the S.C. Department of Transportation named N2N the “Transit Provider of the Year for Human Services.”

There are many ways you can help the N2N program, including purchasing tickets for a raffle that will end on March 8 when winning tickets will be drawn at a 10 a.m. volunteer meeting. Tickets are $20 and you don’t have to be there to win.

The first place prize is a 2010 reconditioned Club Car “Precedent” golf cart donated by Ocean Lakes Family Campground. It comes with free local delivery and a six-month full warranty. The second place prize is a full family hour-long photo session with digital images by Middle Child Photography that is valued at $450. Third place is the entrance fee for a foursome to play in the N2N 10th Anniversary Golf Tournament at the Founder’s Club on May 7.

A neighbor (client) must be over 60 and unable to drive, or over 20 and have a chronic disease or disability. They must be mobile enough to get in and out of a car with minimal assistance.

Speaking of the difference volunteers make in the lives of the people they provide rides to, Farrah Dickerson, volunteer coordinator, said the volunteers provide free rides to numerous places, including grocery stores and to hairdressers, which can make someone feel good.

Joe Kunkel is executive director of Grace Ministries, which is faith based — and that includes any faith, he said. Kunkel said N2N is primarily able to serve the areas of Myrtle Beach, Conway, Surfside, Murrells Inlet, Pawley’s and North Myrtle Beach at this time.

The program currently provides an average of 530 free rides per month. In 2015, its volunteers provided over 6,000 free rides. Dickerson said they have provided over 30,000 free rides since the program started in 2008. She said they now have over 200 volunteer drivers and over 400 clients, which they call “neighbors.”

In December, volunteer Rosemary Flaska was featured by The Sun News as an Horry Angel after she drove her 79 year old “neighbor” to her sister’s funeral in New Hampshire. Long rides like that are not what the volunteers usually do, but it is an example that shows the kind of helping hearts they have.

A list of the ministries’ community partners is on its website.

For more information, to volunteer, donate or purchase raffle tickets, call 839-0702, visit www.gracefullyaging.org, email raffle@gracefullyaging.org or visit Grace Ministries – Neighbor to Neighbor on Facebook.

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Strand Notebook | Neighbor to Neighbor more than a ride program."