CatFISH members have provided 673 rides to 81 people

By Mary Beth Roach

If you’re fishing for some volunteer opportunities, perhaps you can get hooked on CatFISH — a service based in Camillus that provides free transportation to medical and dental appointments for ambulatory seniors living in the town of Camillus.

An acronym for Camillus Area Transport Friends In Service Here, CatFISH is a dedicated group of about 35 drivers that transport people on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with 11 dispatchers fielding calls Mondays through Thursdays.

The need for volunteers, according to Nadine Macomber, a senior advocate with the program, is due to several factors, such as summer vacations or wintering down South, for example; and a greater demand for their services.

“We’re a victim of our own success,” she said, “but we’re proud of it.”

Planning for the program began in mid-2005, and they began transporting people in September 2006, according to C. John Henderson, CatFISH board president. He and his wife, Doris, have been involved with the program since its inception.

It started as a collaborative effort between the Town of Camillus and P.E.A.C.E., Inc. Town Supervisor Mary Ann Coogan and Tom Kehoskie, then-director of Camillus Parks and Recreation, brought together a number of agencies and community groups in the Camillus area to develop ideas for a volunteer driving program. Also involved were the county’s department of aging and youth, P.E.A.C.E. Inc.’s Project R.O.S.E., ECHO’s Meals on Wheels, the Camillus senior citizens group, and local churches. They also tapped those involved in similar FISH programs in such communities as Tully, Manlius and Fayetteville, and their experience was invaluable, according to Henderson. The initiative was then turned over to Project R.O.S.E. (Reach Out to Serve the Elderly), which Macomber oversees.

Macomber said that since June 2007, when she became involved with the program, CatFISH has provided 673 rides to 81 people. They use their own vehicles, and while mileage reimbursement is offered, no one recently has taken advantage of it.

“No one has asked — even with these high gas prices — for a penny in return,” she said.

When gas was running about $4 per gallon, not one person stopped driving because of the gas prices, Henderson said.

“No one complained. I think that’s quite a tribute to our overall program,” he said.
While drivers are not allowed to accept money from users, they can provide stamped envelopes with which people can make donations to CatFISH if they wish.

While the program can accommodate seniors who might have special needs, such as a walker or an oxygen tank, Macomber explained, the people need to be ambulatory since the drivers cannot lift them.

Not only do the drivers merely transport, they will stay with them during the visits to make sure they are on hand to bring them home.

Henderson tells of a person he took to a chemotherapy appointment. Knowing that it was going to be long wait, he took a book with him. He said he never opened that book. He went in with the person and learned a great deal about the procedure the patient was undergoing.

“It was an educational afternoon for me,” he said.

While drivers are only required to bring people to and from doctors’ visits, they sometimes will assist in other errands.

Macomber tells the story of volunteer Martha Williams, who worked with a person who had expressed a desire to visit the library from time to time. A retired schoolteacher, Williams couldn’t deny this wish, so she decided to accompany this person to the library occasionally.

Macomber and Henderson both commented on how appreciative users are for the service and the attention.
“It gets to you when you read some of the notes they get,” Henderson said. “They’re so appreciative.”
Those lured in to be a CatFISH volunteer or those interested in learning more about the service can call 701-5949.