Posted on February, 1 2019
Oakridge Neighborhood Services, Children and Families of Iowa and Opportunity on Deck received retired RideShare vans through DART's van donation program on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019.
The van donation program was started by the DART Board of Commissioners in 2014 to help meet transit needs of community organizations by donating RideShare vans that were being retired from DART’s fleet. This year, fifteen organizations applied for the vans.
Oakridge Neighborhood Services is a non-profit human services and housing agency located in Des Moines’ urban core. Oakridge typically serves the community’s most vulnerable families from at-risk populations. They will use their van to provide transportation for their afterschool youth programming, summer youth employment program, assisting adults who need transportation to work and providing a shuttle service for low-income seniors living within their campus.
Children and Families of Iowa is a nonprofit organization that has served central Iowa since 1888. They will use their van to help grow their Connect2Careers program. This program helps youth and young adults who have experienced trauma, domestic abuse, mental health issues or who are involved with the juvenile court system to explore careers and receive training to make them workforce ready.
Opportunity on Deck is a nonprofit organization that provides organized athletic programming to at-risk youth in the western suburbs of Des Moines. They will use their van to help transport elementary age youth who would otherwise not be able to participate in programming. The van will also be used to expand the organization’s college visit program.