Firehouse Van Arrives in Kearney

The Kearney Enrichment Council is now in the transportation industry as its new passenger bus has arrived in Kearney. The Enrichment Council has worked on ways to help senior citizens with transportation for several years, and with the help from Clay County Senior Services and the City of Kearney, the dream has come to fruition.

We can’t wait to be able to drive seniors and youth to their needed destinations - Kearney Enrichment Council Executive Director Kurt Hamilton

On November 6, 2020, the Enrichment Council announced that it had applied for a $10,000 grant through Clay County Senior Services. The organization generously doubled that amount and allocated a grant of $20,000 to be used towards the purchase of a vehicle. The city of Kearney also pitched in and committed $20,000 of CARES Act funding to aid in the purchase of a vehicle to assist seniors and youth in accessing programs and other basic necessities.

“We plan on mostly using it for our senior programming,” said Kearney Enrichment Council Executive Director Kurt Hamilton. “This consists of taking seniors to and from the firehouse for our programming, but we also want to take seniors for bi-monthly grocery store and food pantry trips, and use it for food deliveries with our food pantry, and to take seniors to and from our senior center.”

The van is a 2014 Ford E350 and was purchased from Midwest Transit Equipment in December. Edward Jones Financial Advisor Jason Pierret located, negotiated, and helped complete the deal. It will seat up to 14 passengers and Hamilton has worked up a schedule that will put it into service 4 – 8 times a week.

Hamilton describes the experience as one he won’t soon forget. “The bus was in Michigan but they brought it down to Swansea, Illinois for us. I had to fly to St. Louis, take an Uber ride to Swansea, and then drive it back. What an experience!”

The Enrichment Council is now looking for volunteers to drive the van starting in February. Volunteers would go through an interview phase, along with a driving test with an Enrichment Council staff member to ensure that they were a good fit for the organization. Potential drivers do not need any special license to drive the vehicle, but they will have to complete some paperwork for the Enrichment Council to be a volunteer driver.

“We couldn’t have got this vehicle without the support of Clay County Senior Services and the City of Kearney. Both agencies supported $20,000 of funding towards this initiative,” said Hamilton. “[This is] A huge need for our organization and community, and we can’t wait to be able to drive seniors and youth to their needed destinations.”

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story