UPDATE:
Friday is the day when the community can make a big difference in the lives of seniors. It’s the 2018 Two Miles For Mary radiothon on 900 CKBI. Remember the phone number: 306-763-MARY to make your donation.
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The following article was first published last week:
At 101 years old, Frances Jordan says she lives a “happy life.” She spent much of it in Weirdale, Sask. where she raised her family of five children and was a foster mother to several more – three of whom she added to her family on a permanent basis. As her children grew older, she found a job in the municipal office where she worked for 12 years.
She was accustomed to ready access to transportation to stay connected to her community and friends during her retirement but access to transportation wasn’t as easy.
She relies heavily on her daughter – whom she lives with – to help her with banking, shopping and health care needs. Once a week, they have a ‘Freedom Day’ to allow both of them to go outside the home and do whatever they wish without any responsibility to the other person. Without the senior’s transportation services offered by the Prince Albert and District Community Services Centre, Jordan wouldn’t be able to enjoy her freedom. Usually, she uses the day to go to the Pineview Centre to have an assisted bath or other care and to visit with her friends there. It is her lifeline to the community. She said she especially appreciates the driver who comes to her door and escorts her to the car.
The Senior’s Transportation program made 7,124 trips over the last year, including 44 medical charters to Saskatoon. Fares start at just $5 per trip within the city. The program is subsidized by the city of Prince Albert and the province but its main support comes from the “Two Miles for Mary” fundraising campaign presented by Saskatchewan Country CKBI radio – a part of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.
Jordan is this year’s “Mary.”
On Sept. 28, the public is asked to donate funds for the Senior’s Transportation Program by calling 306-763-MARY or in person at the Heritage Centre. The breakfast Radiothon will be held from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Donations to the Two Miles for Mary campaign can also be made through the ‘Drop and Go’ at SARCAN.
The Prince Albert and District Community Service Centre has been providing affordable, safe transportation to seniors for over 31 years.
teena.monteleone@jpbg.ca
On Twitter: @TeenaMonteleone
