BETHEL — Al Cressy sat in the waiting room of an Auburn medical office on Nov. 21, patiently waiting for his precious cargo, 68-year-old Caroline Gould, to come out of her appointment.

When she entered the waiting room, Cressy stood up and helped her with her coat before exiting into the swirling snowflakes outside.

Cressy is just one of the many volunteers involved in Community Concepts’ Volunteer Driver program, partnered with the local organization, Age-Friendly Bethel. All volunteer drivers go through an intense, three-day training program which includes receiving certification in first aid/CPR, background checks and vehicle inspections.

The program, which provides transportation for medical and non-medical trips to seniors ages 60 and over, was made possible largely due to a generous grant from the John T. Gorman foundation, Cressy said. The foundation, created by the grandson of the founder of L.L.Bean, “advances ideas and opportunities that can improve the lives of disadvantaged people in Maine.”

“Through surveys and public meetings, we learned that transportation was a key issue to permit people like Caroline to stay in their homes for as long as possible,” Cressy said. “It made sense for a remote, rural town like Bethel to take advantage of this.”

Gould, who lives in Bethel, said the program not only helps her, but her whole family as well.

“My family all works, and they had to take days off of work just to take me to (my) appointments, and sometimes the appointments are an hour,” Gould said. “They can’t take all that time off work, so (we) called and I got stuck with this fellow.” Gould gestured to Cressy and smiled.

Gould said Cressy showed up right on time, and that someone from the program had called her that morning to let her know her ride would be there in 25 minutes.

“It’s just so nice — I don’t have to worry about gas or calling my daughter to let her know where I am, and she’s delighted she doesn’t have to take time off work,” said Gould, who already has another ride scheduled for a medical appointment in February.

“The issue now is sustainability — how do we keep this program going?” said Cressy, who added that repeat grants are often hard to get.

The long-term plan for the program is a work-in-progress.

emarquis@sunmediagroup.net