Help us help those suffering during COVID-19
Written by Joanna McFarland
Vulnerable populations and independent contractors have been deeply impacted by the pandemic — HopSkipDrive can help.
We started this company five years ago because we saw an acute need in the market — to help busy families get their children where they needed to go and to transport all children to their highest potential.
Our solution helps children and other vulnerable populations, such as senior citizens, connect with rigorously-vetted CareDrivers who safely get them where they need to go.
Right now, school closures are keeping kids at home and CareDrivers (who are independent contractors) without rides to give.This means our platform is currently underutilized. While it’s for unfortunate reasons, there’s a silver lining: we have the capacity to help individuals and organizations support our communities* during this crisis.
You or your company may not have the capabilities to execute on your goodwill initiatives right now, but HopSkipDrive is uniquely positioned to help you do so.
A partnership with us gives you the means to help children and seniors access essential services, while enabling CareDrivers to make up for lost earning potential by getting back on the road. We are ready with a community of CareDrivers, proprietary Safe Ride Support systems and a team dedicated to making the world better by enabling greater mobility for vulnerable populations.Whether that be meal delivery for a senior, taking a child to pick up free lunch from a school meal program, getting children with IEPs to their appointments, helping health workers get their kids to and from daycare and much more… let’s work together.
How you can make a difference:
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We can create a custom solution together.
Email partner@hopskipdrive.com to discuss working with us on a community support initiative. Please note, if you have a nonprofit you already partner with that has resources but lacks a transportation solution, we can easily partner with them
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Donate Rides to those in need
Donate HopSkipDrive rides to children who need to access meal programs, IEP appointments and other services available during this time. It’s especially helpful to be with empathetic CareDrivers, many of whom are their consistent drivers.
Donate HopSkipDrive rides to senior citizens who need to pick up prescriptions, go to the grocery store and can’t take public transportation. We can also arrange meal delivery services.
The problem we can solve together
HopSkipDrive works with districts, counties and nonprofits to get youth in foster care, experiencing homelessness or with special needs, to and from school. We also enable transportation for senior citizens.
CareDrivers, 90% of whom are women, say they love earning money while setting their own hours, and feel they’re contributing to the world when bonding with their riders each day. Many of our child riders depend on school for warm meals and emotional support from friends and teachers. These are children for whom school is the one constant in their lives, and in this time of uncertainty, they don’t even have that. They don’t get to see the CareDrivers that give them rides each day. CareDrivers tell us they miss the children they see each day, and can’t wait to start driving them again.
There are, of course, emergency measures in place for children, but they emphasize the very opportunity gap HopSkipDrive narrows through providing greater mobility. School meal programs remain open for students who need it, but how are kids getting there? How can students without computers or internet access the distance learning that many school districts are implementing for the foreseeable future?
CareDrivers are prepared and ready to go
With each day that schools are closed, CareDrivers miss out on valuable earning potential. We are offering all CareDrivers free telehealth screening services to make sure they are not exhibiting any symptoms and feel healthy to drive.HopSkipDrive CareDrivers must pass a 15-point certification process, including a required five years of caregiving experience, multiple fingerprint-based background checks, driving record checks, and more.They are also given coaching and resources on trauma-informed care and how to support people with unique needs. The outbreak of coronavirus is bringing up trauma, loneliness and anxiety for many, especially the populations we serve, it’s an added benefit to work with experienced caregivers with specialized training.
We both have resources to share
In Emily Miller’s recent article Generosity in the Time of COVID, she asks companies looking for ways to help: What’s your organization’s superpower? Share it. Think about how that resource can be provided to those who need it most.
Our ‘superpower’ is our transportation solution and our community of CareDrivers. What’s yours? How can we work together to support our communities?
I’m excited to find out.
