|
Drive, she said: Advocate for disabled, elderly to step down
BY EMILY AYSHFORD eayshford@kenoshanews.com
She’s known around town as a tireless community volunteer and energetic advocate for the elderly and disabled.
But at the end of the month, Barbara Rankin’s going to take a break.
She’ll retire from her current role as coordinator of the Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services Inc.’s Volunteer Escort Program after helping it more than triple in size.
“I’m ready to retire,” said the 73-year-old.
But that doesn’t mean she’ll fade away into retirement.
“I’m going to try and change some attitudes in Madison,” she said.
When the agency first took over the program — which uses volunteer drivers to take the elderly and disabled to places such as doctor’s appointments and grocery stores — executive director Gary Brown said they found a “fantastic opportunity” in Rankin.
“Barb is a strong advocate for the elderly and disabled people, and she really has a lot of strong management skills,” he said.
Rankin said she didn’t realize the need at first, but once the program was advertised, the phone started ringing. And ringing. And ringing.
The number of people who needed rides grew from 160 in 2001 to 335 in 2005, so Rankin stepped up on recruiting volunteer drivers.
“She made sure volunteer drivers had a good experience,” Brown said. “That certainly enhanced our ability to recruit more volunteers.”
Rankin used her computer programming background to set up a team system of three to 10 drivers who would share responsibilities for one regular rider.
Now she coordinates 20 teams of more than 80 volunteer drivers.
Last year, through an American Cancer Society grant, the organization started offering rides to cancer patients. The first customer was a 14-year-old leukemia patient whose Hispanic family didn’t speak English and who didn’t have insurance. Now more than 20 patients take advantage of the program.
“The thought of just trying to get there every day is enough to make them just throw up their hands and quit,” Rankin said. “I like to think we’re making a difference.”
While Rankin said she’d contemplated a move to Florida to be near family, she decided to stick around and spend some time writing and painting.
And she’ll head to Madison to advocate for more funding for the developmentally disabled.
“Funding is always a challenge for anything in this day and age,” she said. “I’m watching the situation get worse and worse and worse.”
Over the years, she’s produced newsletters and helped form calling trees to persuade others to right injustices done by the Legislature.
And she hopes she can change some minds this time.
“Maybe not, but I’m going to try,” she said.
|
