About Us

Senior transportation and mobility are central to the Beverly Foundation’s work. With the general population living longer, older adult mobility becomes an increasingly important issue. As people outlive their ability to drive themselves where they want and need to go, they experience a natural increase in transportation dependency. So they begin the search for supplemental transportation options.

The Beverly Foundation's mission is to foster new ideas and options to enhance mobility and transportation for today's and tomorrow's older population. The foundation pursues this mission through a specialized series of research programs, community demonstrations, and technical assistance products.

NATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

STAR Search Volunteer Driver Awards

The foundation's annual STAR Search program exemplifies its mission statement in action. STAR Search exists to gather information about volunteer driver programs across the country, and then present that information back to the community in the form of research reports and assistive products.

Volunteer driver programs have the chance to win STAR Awards by submitting informational surveys. The data collected from the surveys forms the basis for the Foundation’s ongoing study into transportation options for seniors. Original products generated from the program include Stories From The Road - a book of personal experiences of volunteer drivers. Combined with detailed statistical information, this collection of stories informs and entertains, and shows the unexpected benefits of this vital transportation option.

 

COMMUNITY DEMONSTRATIONS

Volunteer Friends: A Model for Community Transportation

Developed in the foundation's home city of Pasadena, California, the volunteer friends model of delivering transportation to seniors has become a viable alternative for other communities. The East Valley Senior Center, based in North Hollywood, California, is launching a new volunteer friends model: Drive-A-Friend. With funding secured through the office of Congressman Howard Berman, the participation of the City of Los Angeles, and the technical assistance of the Beverly Foundation, this year long pilot program will provide rides to seniors through the unique volunteer friends system.

 

TRANSPORTATION TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Volunteer Driver TurnKey Kit

Communities interested in starting a volunteer driver program to assist senior citizens will find this Volunteer Driver TurnKey Kit to be a valuable resource. The materials in the Volunteer Driver TurnKey Kit draw on the combined experiences of the Beverly Foundation and the Partnership to Preserve Independent Living. It presents users with helpful tools to plan, implement, and evaluate a volunteer driver program. The Volunteer Driver TurnKey Kit is an online technical assistance resource, and is designed to be updated and improved as new information becomes available.

Learn more about the Volunteer Driver TurnKey Kit.