A unique and generous offer from one of Bartholomew County’s leading manufacturers will help ensure veterans will continue to receive round trips to the Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis for medical appointments.
Toyota Material Handling North America is offering to provide drivers for the county-owned 12-passenger van purchased specifically for these medical trips, Veteran Services Officer Larry Garrity said Monday.
“Toyota has a program where people get four hours of pay for doing some kind of a community service,” Garrity said. “They are sending people in who want to drive for us.”
This is the second time within a week that the local Toyota plant has been lauded for their exceptional corporate citizenship. During the May 21 “Day of Caring”, the manufacturer provided more volunteer workers than any other participating company or organization, United Way Communications Manager Magen Pillar said.
However, Toyota and its personnel will not have to shoulder the complete responsibility, Garrity said. One day after a story on the driver shortage appeared in The Republic, the phones began ringing frequently, Garrity said.
“Our office is just as busy as all get out because people are wanting to come in and volunteer after that story ran,” Garrity told the Bartholomew County commissioners Monday.
While volunteers only need a conventional operator’s license, each driver is required to have their driving record checked out by an insurance company before they can be authorized to drive the bus.
The round-trips to Indianapolis were brought to a complete halt for several months last year with the arrival of COVID-19. The number of volunteer drivers dropped from about 14 to no more than five, Garrity said.
Besides concerns about the virus, other factors included an increased number of in-person visits at Roudebush, and the fear of driving in heavy Indianapolis traffic, he said. In addition, two volunteers developed medical problems that prevented them from driving, Garrity said.
One volunteer driver, Tim Thayer of Hope, estimates three-quarters of the veterans he transports on a regular basis have neither a vehicle nor a driver’s license.
In April, the Veteran Services office was able to transport 22 veterans during 12 round trips to the VA medical facility, he said. While several medical matters can be handled by the Wakeman VA Clinic at Camp Atterbury, Garrity emphasized certain procedures like therapy treatments and X-rays are only available at Roudebush.
This latest act is just one of many ways Toyota has proven itself to be a generous contributor to the community, Bartholomew County Commissioner’s Chairman Larry Kleinhenz said.
“They have reached out to us on multiple occasions to participate in an effort, donate money, and encourage us to do more in certain areas like recycling,” Kleinhenz said. “And now, they are coming forward to pay their employees for helping our veterans.”
