A program of the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County, Volunteer Wheels operates everywhere in the county except within Petaluma, Healdsburg and Cloverdale. Each of those cities has its own own transit services for elderly, ill and disabled people. Currently, more than 3,400 Volunteer Wheels clients in Sonoma County are driven some 43,000 miles per year. The service gets them to medical appointments, physical therapy, grocery stores, programs for elderly and disabled people, and visits with spouses no longer able to live at home. Most of the volunteers drive only in Santa Rosa, although Volunteer Wheels also is looking for more drivers in Sonoma.
Volunteers generally commit to driving one morning or one afternoon a week.
Volunteers who drive their own cars are eligible to receive reimbursement of 25 cents a mile. Prospective volunteer drivers are encouraged to call 573-3375. People interested in driving in Sonoma can call 996-4644. It gives me a chance to get out,'' said Irene Schuster of Santa Rosa, who caught a ride to the supermarket with one Volunteer Wheels driver and, once she finished shopping, was taken home by Buffington.