FISH Seeks Volunteers to Help Elders
Are you looking for a ride to a medical or dental appointment? Are you unable to drive yourself for any reason one day, or several days? Look no further than the compassionate volunteers at FISH. This organization is available to Franklin residents of any age. They will arrange to drive people to their appointment. Simply call their phone number, and they are there for you.
Originally founded by the Anglican Church, the Franklin chapter of FISH was created in 1973 by a group of women at the Federated Church -- although it is not affiliated with the church. It is a non-profit organization run completely by volunteers. People give their time to either drive or answer telephone calls. They schedule and arrange for drivers to transport clients to and from appointments. They have driven as far as Boston and Providence, and locations in between such as Milford, Upton, Walpole, Wellesley and Norwood Hospital.
The name comes from the ichthus - the ancient Greek symbol used by early Christians. Also known as the Jesus Fish, it is one of the oldest symbols of Christianity and was formerly used as a secret sign.
FISH volunteers offer a ride to people needing transportation to medical or dental appointments. Sometimes a person needs a ride just one time. In other instances people need a ride regularly. Transportation is a phone call way.
The organization is seeking more volunteers to drive and answer telephone calls, said Nancy Rappa, FISH secretary. "The nice thing about FISH is you only have to volunteer one day a month," she explained. "If you're a telephone person, you have to call in on the line 3 to 4 times a day to check messages. If you are a transportation person you just have to drive one day a month. It's not a huge commitment."
"A lot of organizations in town know about us, so they will tell clients about us," Rappa continued. "We just got a call from the Veterans the other day." A client is someone who needs a ride. They call the phone number, there's a voice message, they leave their name, phone number, and tell what type of transportation they need. The client explains where and when they need a ride.
"We have to ask clients what their medical issues are because we can transport someone with a walker to a car. But we don't take people with wheel chairs because we don't have drivers with the ability to take them in their car," she explained.
Clients must call in advance so FISH can make sure the driver knows where they are going and what time they need to be available. Their phone number is 508-528-2121.
FISH currently has about 14 volunteers for telephone and 20 volunteer drivers. They need more to provide the service every day Mondays through Fridays throughout the month. Telephone and driver volunteers sign up for one day of the week, she said. They listen to the messages and call the client back and get the details such as where and when are they going; and if they need any help. Telephone volunteers call the driver for that day.
"It works pretty well. With gas prices the way they are and the economy the way it is, we have had an awful lot of people who need transportation lately. We hate to turn people down. Our motto is to find a ride when people need it," said Rappa.
On average FISH provide 5 or 6 rides a week. They are available Monday through Friday. "We take people to dialysis on a short term basis," she said. "There are people who use us a lot."
"We do not get paid, we do not ask clients for money," said Rappa. "Drivers pay for their own gas." It's an ideal way to help people in need in the community without a big time commitment.
The FISH Steering Committee is comprised of several people from Franklin: Judith Agopovich, president; Nancy Rappa, secretary; Madeleine Faenza, treasurer; Sandy Hunter, scheduling; Terry Robbins; Joanne Roche; Barbara Steele; Rosemary Stockman; and Clare Ames.
Franklin News, February, 2014
