Volunteer group celebrates 50 years of free rides
STAMFORD — Cheryl Kendall is one of many volunteers for FISH of Stamford who has been involved with the organization for at least a decade.
FISH — Friends in Service Here — or Feel I Should Help — provides Stamford residents with free rides to medical appointments within the city.
“It's very rewarding that you can help people get a free ride,” Kendall said. “Three or four people told me in the first two years, ‘If I hadn't had FISH (to take) me to a doctor's appointment for free, (and) I got cancer or something else and I wouldn't have been able to go to that doctor — I would have died.'”
The organization will celebrate 50 years in operation at a luncheon on June 3. Current and former volunteers are expected to attend as well as a number of public officials.
Kendall, who in addition to being a driver is FISH's treasurer, said the organization has 45 volunteers today who serve as drivers or telephone dispatchers. The longest-serving volunteer has been with the group for 35 years, she said.
FISH paused rides for a year and a half because of COVID-19. But before that, volunteers collectively drove 17,000 miles and 1,600 clients a year on average, Kendall said.
Many people sign up because they know someone who already is a volunteer, she said. Some volunteers are retired, like Kendall, and others have full-time jobs.
In terms of funding, FISH receives grants from other organizations and sometimes donations from clients, Kendall said.
Board of Directors member Kay Pfaff said a group of five people created FISH of Stamford in 1972, drawing inspiration from a program in England.
“There's a lot of pluses” to what FISH offers, Pfaff said, including direct rides from home to a doctor's office and back.
“But the main plus is that we are free,” she said, compared with a ride-hailing app or taxi.
Pfaff said people may be referred to FISH by a church, doctor's office, hospital or neighbor.
“The fact is that people have trusted us, and they don't feel like they're getting a ride from a stranger,” she said.
To receive a ride, clients must have had at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. The organization cannot provide rides to people who need a wheelchair, but it can take those with a walker or cane.
FISH does not ask clients to provide information about their income, Pfaff said.
“Over the years, we've found that most of the people that we're helping really need us,” she said.
Those interested in becoming a client or volunteer can call 203-348-3474.