Ride Connection
We’ve been celebrating the opening of TriMet’s new Orange Line all month long with a special flavor in our Portland scoop shops dedicated to the Orange Line called Bitter Orange & Olive Oil. Reliable and affordable transportation is so incredibly important to our community. And because we believe that reliable transportation should be available to everyone, we’re using this occasion to donate a portion of the proceeds from this flavor to Ride Connection who provide responsive, accessible transportation options for those in need. We are incredibly proud to support Ride Connection and wanted to share a bit more information about them through a guest blog post by Lydia Corran, Ride Connection Outreach and Development Director. Enjoy!
With gratitude,
Salt & Straw Founder
More Than Just a Ride
Getting around with Ride Connection
By Lydia Corran, Ride Connection Outreach and Development Director
Picture Portland 20 years ago as Jerry and Holly travel across the city on an articulated TriMet bus. They didn’t know each other yet. Not until their two guide dogs spotted one another across the aisle. Both dogs were fresh out of training school and couldn’t resist the urge to get to know one another. Each dog yanked their respective owner out of their seats, upsetting a few passengers before meeting in the aisle for a proper smell. Seconds later, Jerry and Holly met amid the tangled leads and they’ve been together ever since.
Holly and Jerry have always been intrepid travelers regardless of being legally blind. They rode the TriMet system everywhere they needed to go until other health conditions hindered mobility. Now Holly and Jerry use a different part of our public transit system: they get rides to and from where they need to go from Ride Connection.
Ride Connection is a nonprofit that provides transportation options for seniors and people with disabilities throughout the Portland metro area, people just like Jerry and Holly. And it’s more than just a ride. It’s a driver with an outstretched arm and a friendly face. It’s teaching someone with a disability how to use the bus. It’s spending time with someone on the phone who has run out of options to get to a chemotherapy appointment.
Support from the community is imperative to our success in getting people where they need to go. That’s why we all jumped up and down when we heard Salt & Straw wanted to get involved in what we do. Well… that… and we all really like ice cream. We couldn’t be more excited to have a friend in Salt & Straw: a Portland icon and community-focused business
You can join them in helping!
Donate or volunteer
Your contributions won’t go unnoticed. Last year our volunteers and donors helped us:
Salt & Straw Founder
More Than Just a Ride
Getting around with Ride Connection
By Lydia Corran, Ride Connection Outreach and Development Director
Picture Portland 20 years ago as Jerry and Holly travel across the city on an articulated TriMet bus. They didn’t know each other yet. Not until their two guide dogs spotted one another across the aisle. Both dogs were fresh out of training school and couldn’t resist the urge to get to know one another. Each dog yanked their respective owner out of their seats, upsetting a few passengers before meeting in the aisle for a proper smell. Seconds later, Jerry and Holly met amid the tangled leads and they’ve been together ever since.
Holly and Jerry have always been intrepid travelers regardless of being legally blind. They rode the TriMet system everywhere they needed to go until other health conditions hindered mobility. Now Holly and Jerry use a different part of our public transit system: they get rides to and from where they need to go from Ride Connection.
Ride Connection is a nonprofit that provides transportation options for seniors and people with disabilities throughout the Portland metro area, people just like Jerry and Holly. And it’s more than just a ride. It’s a driver with an outstretched arm and a friendly face. It’s teaching someone with a disability how to use the bus. It’s spending time with someone on the phone who has run out of options to get to a chemotherapy appointment.
Support from the community is imperative to our success in getting people where they need to go. That’s why we all jumped up and down when we heard Salt & Straw wanted to get involved in what we do. Well… that… and we all really like ice cream. We couldn’t be more excited to have a friend in Salt & Straw: a Portland icon and community-focused business
You can join them in helping!
Donate or volunteer
Your contributions won’t go unnoticed. Last year our volunteers and donors helped us:
- Provide nearly 500,000 rides to seniors and people with disabilities
- Train 261 individuals to use public transit
- Lead 143 group trips on transit for seniors
