“Volunteering as a driver is not just about transportation; it’s about bringing connection and support to their lives.” – Janet Atkinson.
The time and dedication of volunteers in our community do not go unnoticed. At the Children’s Aid Society of the districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin, we rely on our volunteers to help us protect children and youth and keep families connected. Our volunteer drivers not only make sure children and youth get where they need to go, but they also become familiar faces and build connections. This essential service is one that often goes unfilled, leaving children and youth without other options.
We recently sat down with Janet, a retired child protection worker who now dedicates her free time as a volunteer driver with CASDSM, to discuss why volunteer driving is so important. Her journey with us spans over three decades, filled with challenges, rewards, and heartfelt stories.
A Lifetime of Dedication
Janet’s journey with us began 35 years ago. For the majority of her career, Janet was a child protection worker, with her last position being a support person for foster homes. Her many different roles and years of experience gave her a first-hand perspective of the complexities, challenges and critical need for transporting children and youth. She knew from experience that if volunteer driver positions go unfilled, children and youth will have to cancel family visits and appointments, leaving everyone disappointed.
Before she retired, Janet felt so passionately about the need for volunteer drivers that she recruited her husband to become a volunteer driver. Now, they both share the experience and joy that comes with volunteer driving, even sharing some of the long drives together.
The Critical Role of a Volunteer Driver
Volunteer driving is not just about getting children and youth to appointments, school and visits; it is also about making them comfortable, keeping families connected and supporting them. Janet knows from experience that each child or youth needs support in different ways. Janet says, “Volunteering as a driver is not just about transportation; it’s about bringing connection and support to their lives.” For some, that may come from conversations with a familiar face every week playing with toys in the car, and for others, it may be a special playlist of songs. The important thing is respecting the child or youth in your car and listening to them.
The destinations are as varied as the needs of the children, from visits to parents’ homes to regular school drop-offs. Being a constant in their lives can really make a difference and bring some joy into both your lives.
More Than Just Transportation: Keeping Families Connected
All Children’s Aid Societies place a large emphasis on keeping families connected because we know that supporting connections in children’s and youth’s lives is important for their emotional well-being and success. Even when children and youth are not able to live at home, when appropriate, we prioritize keeping them connected with their families. This benefits them as well as their parents, supporting their connections within their community.
Volunteer drivers play a large role in ensuring that children and youth are able to remain connected with their families. Caseworkers and foster parents have many responsibilities which may prevent them from being able to drive children and youth to important family visits. Without volunteer drivers to assist, these visits would not be possible, often leading to disappointed children and youth missing those critical connections with their families.
The Deeply Rewarding Nature of Volunteering
Janet and her husband’s experiences, shed light on just how rewarding it is to support children, youth and families in your community. Janet speaks of the bond she has created with a child she has driven for many years. She even purchased toys for her car that she knew he would enjoy. This relationship has developed over their years together, and now she finds if she has to miss one of her regular drives they both miss the time they spend together. This story is just one of many shared between Janet and her husband, that truly showcase the unique experience and connections that volunteer drivers get in being a consistent and positive presence in the lives of children and youth.
Navigating the Challenges
There are many rewarding aspects to being a volunteer driver; however, Janet also wanted to highlight that it does not come without challenges. Despite all of the training that you receive as a volunteer driver, there are some circumstances that cannot be avoided, such as unsafe behaviour while driving. However, in any situation where she has faced challenges, she stated that the coordinator always listened and stepped in, ensuring the safety of the child or youth and the driver.
Flexibility and Support in Volunteering
An important part of Janet’s life in retirement is her ability to spend time with family and friends. The flexibility of volunteering allows her to balance her personal life and volunteer commitments without sacrificing time with her family and friends. She is able to choose days and times that work best for her schedule, and when she visits family, other volunteers step up and support each other. The support from CASDSM comes not only in the form of training but also in mileage reimbursements.
Training for volunteers
Janet came into volunteering with a considerable understanding of child and youth protection. From having her own family to her time working with children and youth, she understands the importance of safety precautions in vehicles. However, each volunteer must complete training, which includes installing car seats safely. This is really in place to keep everyone in the vehicle safe, including the volunteers. All of our volunteers get the training they need to feel prepared before getting in a vehicle with children and youth.
Tips for New Volunteers
Janet and her husband have spent many years volunteering, and in that time, they have faced challenges and experienced the great joy that comes with supporting children, youth and families. Their advice to people just starting out is to find someone to join them. She encourages couples to volunteer together, sharing that it enhances the experience and provides a more stable environment for the children and youth. On days when she is not available, sometimes her husband will take her runs. Since they are both volunteers with CASDSM, they are able to support each other and even accompany one another on long drives.
Janet’s journey as a volunteer driver is a powerful reminder of the impact you can have within your community. Her transition from child protection worker to volunteer driver reflects the deep commitment and need for the protection of children and youth. Her story is a call for other community members to join them and make a difference as a volunteer with the Children’s Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin.
How to get involved
We are always looking for people to volunteer, especially as volunteer drivers. Volunteer drivers must be at least 21 years of age and complete our application process.
We host orientation sessions periodically throughout the year. After submitting your application, we will be in touch as soon as possible to start the 6 to 8 week approval process. We provide training sessions for your safety as well as the safety of the children and youth in your care.
Visit our website to learn more about applying to volunteer with CASDSM.
