By Heart of Illinois – ABC
LeRoy – The American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program needs volunteer drivers in the Heart of Illinois.
“If it wasn’t for Road to Recovery and people like Michael [Johnson] and some of the other drivers and the medication I’m on I would not be alive today,” Judith Friedlein, 80, said.
The service matches people who need to get to cancer treatments with those willing to use their own vehicle to get them there. It’s a non-binding program, and volunteers can drive as often or as rarely as they want.
Patients who’d like to use the service just need to call a national number to request a ride.
Mike Johnson signed up for the program as a way to make an impact in his community. He says it feels like a bigger deal than just giving money to a cause. Multiple times per month, he picks up Friedlein from her Le Roy home and drives her to treatment in Bloomington.
“It’s given [Judith and I] a chance to make a friend that we wouldn’t have made otherwise,” Johnson said. “We’ve gotten quite close in that period of time. It’s been very nice.”
If you’d like to sign up to drive, or if you need the service, click here.
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