Safe Rides is Safe Once Again

Just weeks after Martha’s Vineyard Safe Rides announced it might cease operations due to lack of funds, the club's adult supervisor, Ben Retmier, said the volunteer student group had raised enough money to carry it through the coming year. He warned, however, that ongoing effort will be required to make Safe Rides sustainable.

“Right now, yes, we have raised enough money, but we’re not going to rest on our laurels,” said Retmier, a 2003 graduate of (MVRHS) and Safe Rides alum. 

As was first reported in thel student paper, the High School View, on January 13, Safe Rides found itself unable to pay the approximate $3000 annual operating costs needed to fund the club, which is unaffiliated with the high school. That money goes toward paying for car insurance and cell phones used by the high school drivers.

Safe Rides operates Friday and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m out of the . A small group of volunteers man the dispatch station, while a driving team made up of one male and female 18-year-old driver ferries students in need of transportation. The Martha’s Vineyard chapter of the national program began in 1998, following the death of a high school senior who was killed in a car crash that involved alcohol.

In order to meet its financial needs, Safe Rides began asking student volunteers this year to pay a $35 to join the club. That fee was to be reimbursed after a volunteer had worked three shifts. Still, only a handful of students paid, which left the club in a lurch as insurance policies were about to run out.

In the intervening weeks, students held a bake sale at the high school that raised approximately $200. A number of community members also pledged donations, some anonymously.

“A lot of people have called. It’s sort of been a wake-up call with people saying, ‘Oh, we might lose this program,’” said Retmier.

With this year’s operating costs now under control, Retmier says that Safe Rides must implement a plan that will safeguard it against future hardship.

“We’ve gotten some nice donations,” said Retmier’s mother, Kathy, who previously ran Safe Rides and still handles much of its finances. “But we want Safe Rides to be sustainable, and not have to run to the newspaper and yell ‘Help! Help!’ every time there’s trouble.”

In order to address those ongoing concerns, Retmier says he will focus on teaching student volunteers necessary fund-raising skills. “I’m going to help them in any way that I can,” he said.

First up on his agenda: a dine-to-donate night at Sharky’s in both and on February 22. Fifteen percent of all food sales that evening will go toward funding Safe Rides in the years to come.

Speaking out about the upcoming fund-raiser, Retmier implored others to “support Safe Rides and your local business.”

“It’s a good cause,” said Retmier. “I’m proud of what the kids have been doing and you should be proud, too.”