Become a Friend of ITNBluegrass

March 9, 2010

From the Deputy Director, Laura Dake

We are gratified by the personal and financial support we’ve received from so many in the community and by the fact that ITNBluegrass is helping people get out and enjoy life. Since our first ride in July of 2008, we’ve given 4,189 rides and logged 14,538 volunteer miles.

Our work is far from over, however. Rider-memberships and fares do not support the entirety of our operation. Even when ITNBluegrass is economically sustainable – in about its fifth year of operations – just over half of its revenue will come from rider memberships and fares. The remainder must come from local community support. That’s where you come in.

Please consider becoming a Friend of ITNBluegrass. With your tax-deductible gift of $50, you help us move towards sustainability as well as show your support for a program that melds both business and charitable elements to address a societal challenge. There is a membership form and more information on benefits for Friends on the opposite page. Let’s ensure that this wonderful program is still around when you are no longer driving!

To become a friend please fill in our Friends Form [pdf] and send it to:

ITNBluegrass
436 Georgetown St
Lexington, KY 40508

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ITNBluegrass Benefit with CAbi, the Ultimate in Personal Shopping!

March 4, 2010

Save the Date(s)!

ITNBluegrass Benefit with CAbi, the Ultimate in Personal Shopping!

Enjoy FASHION, FRIENDS & FUN on Thursday evening, March 11th or Friday morning, March 12th at the home of Gale Reece. You’ll get a fashion consultation with Sheridan Simmons and a preview of CAbi’s spring collection of versatile and popular fashions for all ages.

15% of proceeds go to ITNBluegrass.

Interested? Give us a call at (859) 252-8665 for more information.

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Posted in ITNBluegrass

ITNAmerica® Founder and CEO to Speak at UW-Milwaukee’s Center on Aging and Community and the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute

February 26, 2010

“Life is a journey, and in America, much of it is spent in a car,” says Katherine Freund, transportation activist and founder of ITNAmerica. “The irony is that few individuals plan for the day when they must turn over the keys. In a society where mobility equates to freedom and independence, this transition can be devastating for the more than 600,000 people over age 70 who stop driving each year. But it doesn’t have to be.”

With our country’s population of older adults (65+) expected to double to potentially 25 percent by 2029, states, cities, academic institutions, and foundations are starting to take a critical look at the resources that will be necessary to serve this explosion of older adults. In 2008, Freund was named “One of 12 People who are Changing Your Retirement” by the Wall Street Journal. She will be presenting on March 9th at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Center on Aging and Community. On March 19th she will be the featured guest of the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. In both venues she will discuss social enterprise and her experience in developing an innovative, sustainable community solution to senior mobility.

ITNAmerica’s nonprofit model supports and empowers individuals as they transition through every stage of their lives and enables continued connections to the people and activities that bring them meaning.

For additional information about ITNAmerica and answers to your questions about starting an ITNAmerica affiliate in your community, go to www.itnamerica.org.

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Posted in ITNAmerica

Racine County and The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread Co-Host Senior Transportation Forum

February 26, 2010

Founder of Innovative, Sustainable Transportation Option for Seniors to Address Community Leaders on March 12th

(Racine, WI) Most drivers outlive their ability to drive by seven to ten years, a statistic that highlights why the transition away from driving is a serious—and growing—social and safety issue in this country. In Wisconsin, and across the nation, communities are recognizing that existing transportation systems are not meeting the mobility needs of normally aging people.

Katherine Freund, founder and President of ITNAmerica ®, the nation’s first sustainable transportation option for seniors, is the featured guest at a community forum on senior mobility on March 12th, co-hosted by Racine County and The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread in conjunction with ITNRacineCounty™. In 2008, The Wall Street Journal named Freund “One of 12 People who are Changing Your Retirement.”

“We’ve added years to the American life span but our transportation systems, from mass transit to our reliance on the private automobile, were never really built for people who reach such extended ages,” says Katherine Freund, founder and President of ITNAmerica ®. “Independent Transportation Network ® is a new member of the transit family specifically designed to meet the needs of older people.”

The ITN affiliate model is based on community engagement and collaboration to solve the real and growing problem of dignified transportation options for seniors and the visually impaired. In the weeks and months ahead, ITNRacineCounty will be launching volunteer recruitment and training efforts while also developing community awareness of ITN’s unique program features that benefit volunteers as well as member riders. Seniors have the option of trading their own cars to pay for rides while volunteer drivers may store transportation credits for their own future transportation needs or use their credits to help family members at any ITN anywhere in the country.

“The vast majority of Americans do not plan beyond their driving years,” adds Freund. “I am grateful to The Johnson Foundation for their willingness to facilitate dialogue and examine creative solutions to this important social and public health issue. We are also indebted to Racine County for convening local community partners and providing the start-up funds for this new ITN affiliate. Your leadership and support empowers the people of Racine County to build a sustainable solution for their grandparents and parents now and for themselves in the future.”

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ITNRacineCounty needs the support of the whole community. For information about ride memberships, volunteering to drive, or car donations, go to www.itnracinecounty.org.

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Posted in ITNAmerica, ITNRacineCounty

“Yes We Can!”

February 23, 2010

ITNAmerica Co-hosting Day-Long Seminar at Upcoming Aging in America Conference in Chicago

Aging in America, the 2010 Chicago conference of the National Council on Aging and the American Society on Aging, will be a 3-day showcase for programs and projects that can be replicated, a forum for policy discussion and advocacy, and a prime source of information on new research findings in aging. It is the nation’s largest gathering of a diverse, multidisciplinary community of professionals from the fields of aging, healthcare, and education.

ITNAmerica® and the National Center on Senior Transportation (NCST) are partnering at the Chicago event to sponsor an all-day educational event on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

ITNAmerica®, the first and only national, non-profit transportation service for the nation’s aging population, is leading the way in the dawn of the social enterprise era. This morning’s sessions will feature presentations by ITNChicago® founder Joyce Gallagher, Atlantic Philanthropies Program Manager Laura Robbins, and Motion Picture & Television Fund Center on Aging Director, Dr. Neal Cutler.

Morning Sessions: ITNAmerica: Social Enterprise and Senior Mobility. Yes, we can.

Session 1: (8-9:30 a.m.): Community Collaboration and Social Enterprise
HOST: City of Chicago,
Session 2: (9:45-11:00 a.m.): Social Enterprise and Senior Mobility—A Report on the Atlantic Philanthropies Grant to Help Launch ITNAmerica,
Sustainable Senior Transportation
HOST: The Atlantic Philanthropies
Session 3: (11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.): Aging in Community—Linking Entertainment Industry NORCs with Sustainable Senior Transportation
HOST: Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF)

NCST is a technical assistance and training center funded by the Federal Transit Administration in collaboration with the Administration on Aging, Their mission is to increase transportation options for older adults to enhance their ability to live more independently within their communities. Support and resources are provided to the aging network across the full constellation of senior transportation services, including older driver safety, driving transitions, public transportation options, taxi services, volunteer driver programs, and more. The focus of the three NCST- sponsored afternoon sessions is on showcasing replicable and sustainable strategies and solutions at the local level.

Afternoon Sessions: NCST
Session 1: Senior Transportation
Moderator: Gail Gibson Hunt, President & CEO, National Alliance for Caregiving

Session 2: Everyone Rides: Meeting the Mobility Needs of Culturally and Ethnically Diverse Elders
Moderator: Greg Link, Aging Services Program Specialist-U.S. Administration on Aging

Session 3: Transportation Options: Where the Rubber Meets the Road in Mobility Management
Moderator: Santo Grande, President & CEO-Delmarva Community Services, Inc.

Learn more about this conference.

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Posted in ITNAmerica, ITNChicago

National Foundation Extends Funds for Innovative ITNAmerica® Program

February 22, 2010

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Internship Program a Model for Success

WESTBROOK ME – A generous grant from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation has enabled ITNAmerica to expand its successful internship program supporting sustainable transportation resources for seniors across the country.

“The initial funding for this innovative project yielded such successful outcomes we’re doing it again,” says Katherine Freund, President and Founder of ITNAmerica. “With the Foundation’s funding of nine interns in affiliate communities across the country, we raised awareness about our services while also raising significantly more money than we spent.”

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation has supported the needs of low-income seniors for over 50 years. The Foundation’s 2009 grant to ITNAmerica enabled participating affiliates to generate more than $130,000 in revenue, with $20,000 of that money reserved for ITN®’s Road Scholarship Program™ for low-income seniors. In this way, the grant helped build community support for senior mobility, enabled access for all seniors, and ensured the special needs of low income seniors were not forgotten.

“The interns helped us build support that will continue to generate funds year after year,” says Freund. “With as many as 20 interns in affiliate communities across the country in 2010, we anticipate even greater success with what has now become The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Internship Program. This support will expand our commitment to more transportation resources for more people in more places.”

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Posted in ITNAmerica, ITNBluegrass, ITNCentralCT, ITNCharlestonTrident, ITNChicago, ITNCoastalCT, ITNGreaterCincinnati, ITNGreaterLA, ITNLasVegasValley, ITNNorthCentralCT, ITNOrlando, ITNPortland, ITNQuadCities, ITNRacineCounty, ITNSanDiego, ITNSarasota, ITNStCharles

ITNNorthCentralConnecticut™ to Hold Second Annual Walk for Rides™

February 17, 2010

ITNNorthCentralConnecticut has scheduled their second annual Walk for Rides™ fundraiser for Sunday May 2, 2010. Beginning at noon and lasting until 4:00 pm, the walk will consist of 20 laps around the indoor track at Sports World on 226 Main Street in East Windsor, CT.

Teams and individuals of all ages will be helping to raise money in support of the seniors and visually impaired adults in their lives and to raise awareness of alternative transportation resources through ITNNorthCentralConnecticut, an affiliate of the national non-profit organization ITNAmerica.

An official Walk for Rides™ website will soon be launched, giving supporters the ability to register for the walk as well as make online donations. Email info@itnnorthcentralct.org or call 860-758-7833 for a brochure and more information.

See our Walk for Rides flyer.
See our Walk for Rides brochure.

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Posted in ITNNorthCentralCT

ITNBluegrass™ looks to bring senior transportation to Midway!

February 9, 2010

ITNBluegrass will be visiting Midway Baptist Church fellowship Hall on Saturday, March 27 at 10:30am to talk to residents about expanding the ITN® (Independent Transportation Network®) service to Midway. Once up and running, the service would transport seniors in Woodford County to and from Fayette County.

Since beginning their 24/7 transportation service to people 60+ and visually impaired adults in September of 2008, ITNBluegrass has delivered over 3,700 rides in Fayette County! ITNBluegrass uses trained and screened volunteer drivers to deliver most of its rides. Volunteers earn mileage reimbursement and/or mileage credits, the latter of which they can donate to Midway’s Community Rides account to help subsidize rides ITNBluegrass provides to low-income seniors.

If you have an interest in senior transportation—as a potential rider, as an adult child or friend of a potential rider, as a donor/supporter, or as a volunteer driver—please join us on March 27.

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Posted in ITNBluegrass

February Promotion: Love to Share a Ride

February 9, 2010

5 Steps to cut your Ride Cost by 15% while sharing your love of ITNOrlando:
If you have friends that would love to try ITNOrlando now is the best time!

  • Share a ride with a friend, a wonderful way to gain independence.
  • In the month of February invite a friend to ride along with you on one of your rides and your friend will ride for free.
  • Call ITNOrlando at 407-228-7761 to schedule a pick-up.
  • For each of your friends that join you will receive a $5.00 referral credit.
  • Every time you and any of your friends who are members share a ride you both will receive a 15% discount.

Click here to see the promotion.

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Posted in ITNOrlando

ITN Oyster Roast: Shucking for Seniors

February 4, 2010

Join The Folly Dogs band for an afternoon of fun, food, drinks, live entertainment and good friends. 100% of proceeds benefit ITNCharlestonTrident !

When: Sunday, March 7th, 2010, 2 pm to 5 pm

Where: Folly Beach Crab Shack, 26 Center Street, Folly Beach, SC

Tickets: $25 purchased in advance ($30 at the door) (12 and under free)*

Includes: Oysters, hot dogs, soft drinks, set-up and servers (cash bar available)

For tickets, contact info@itnCharlestonTrident.org or call Scott at (843)864-6642.
*Tickets available from board members and ITN office

Click here to view the flyer.

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Posted in ITNCharlestonTrident

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