The Driver – Volunteer Newsletter – July 2025

Did the past 12 months feel busy??? It certainly did for Neighbor Ride! We thank all our volunteers for making these record volumes possible. YOU provided 17,748 trips during the past year – a nearly 14% increase over the previous year.

And yes, these past few months (March to June) have been the busiest ever. Thank you for being there day in and day out, month after month, for our older neighbors.

And as always, please continue to spread the word on volunteering with Neighbor Ride. We are always looking to welcome new volunteers to Neighbor Ride, as unfilled rides continue to grow as well. 

See the note below from our Immediate Past Board President and Volunteer Driver, Paul Gleichauf.

As your immediate past board president, it’s my pleasure NOT to be here to ask for donations—but I am asking for your help!

Neighbor Ride needs more volunteer drivers to serve the growing number of seniors in Howard County. The best way to find them? Word of mouth and referrals.

We know you’re well-connected—can you introduce us to:

• Faith communities
• Veterans’ groups
• Neighborhood associations
• Service clubs (Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, etc.)
• Senior centers
• Corporate volunteer programs

Once connected, a Neighbor Ride team member would love to speak briefly at a meeting to share how our amazing volunteers make a difference.

We thank Michele Wray, who recently did this at First Lutheran Church—her outreach led to a donation and new volunteer interest!

Interested in helping? Contact Bruce Fulton, Executive Director, or   
Susan Gunther, Outreach Chair.

Thank you for all you do!

Paul Gleichauf

Aquarium Tickets Up for Grabs!

A donated Bingo prize was late arriving so lucky for us we can send two folks to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Reach out to us by August 1st to be entered into the drawing for two adult passes, good until 3/26/26.

The Howard County Fair is Back

The 2025 Howard County Fair will take place from August 2-9th at the fairgrounds. The County Executive has made complementary passes available to our volunteers. These tickets can be used on any day of the fair. You may request up to 6 tickets.

Spotted Making a Difference

Volunteer Driver, Emily Morris was honored on a ride last week.  Emily has been a driver since May 2023 helping out our Laurel clients.  She is pictured here with client, Mary Mattison.

Reminder: Magnet Days

Our data shows that the car magnets are a wonderful recruitment tool for Neighbor Ride. 

On the 17th of each month, we ask that all volunteers display their magnet on the cars throughout the day. 

Neighbor Ride has a way to partner with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI Howard County is restarting its monthly Sunday Supper Program in July. We launched this pilot program on Sunday, July 20th, offering six rides.

Providing a meal and fellowship opportunity for adults, The Sunday Supper events take place from 3:00-4:30 pm at the Way Station at Shephard Pratt located on Route 108.

Rides will typically be processed on the Wednesday before the Sunday Supper. If you are available and would like to help, please accept the rides through the portal or call the office.

Ani Hyslop

We are saddened by the passing of passenger Carolyn Martin. Our thoughts are with their family and friends at this time.

Check out our latest stats from June. We appreciate our volunteers for helping us be out there on the roads each and every day for our clients! 

• Rides requests filled: 800
• Rides cancelled for no driver: 46
• Ride Unfilled rate: 4.6%
• Clients served: 241
• Different volunteers providing a ride: 169

20 Cars for 20 Years! We accept all vehicles of any age or condition. Anyone can donate, no matter what state you live in!