Herndon Village Network Drivers Keep Senior Citizens Moving

Herndon Village Network provides area senior citizens transportation for doctor appointments, grocery shopping, and many other important activities. This allows seniors to age in place, and it also helps them to remain active in and connected with the community. Key to keeping seniors moving are volunteer drivers, like Michael (Mike) Hannan, who give the gifts of a ride and friendship.

Born and raised in Daytona Beach, FL, Hannan earned his master’s degree at Louisiana State University, and he lived and worked for nearly 20 years in the Baton Rouge, LA area. In 2011, he moved to Reston, VA to work for the Environmental Protection Agency as an Environmental Engineer focusing on climate change. During one of his many carpool rides to and from his work, he heard a radio interview highlighting the village concept and mentioning RCC Rides, which provides transportation to senior citizens in Reston. His interest piqued, Hannan decided to volunteer as a driver.

Hannan found helping senior citizens a perfect fit. “Even as a young person, I enjoyed being around older members of my community,” he shared. “I like hearing their stories and learning from them.”

Hannan enjoyed volunteering so much that, when RCC Rides paused services as a result of the pandemic, he began volunteering with the nearby Herndon Village Network. A sister Northern Virginia Rides organization that offered to help RCC Rides clients, Herndon Village Network regularly serves seniors residing in the 20170 area and is expanding services into the 20171 area. With Herndon Village Network’s flexible scheduling, Hannan finds it easy to provide transportation to senior citizens approximately two to three times per week.

He knows he is making a difference. Hannan believes it’s so important for senior citizens to be able to see their doctors and take care of other important tasks. He can only imagine the hardship that public transportation would place on many of his riders. In addition to the financial burden, it could be physically challenging and sometimes confusing.

Hannan also finds volunteering very rewarding. He enjoys hearing interesting life stories, receiving pearls of wisdom, and sharing a little of himself, including fun photos of his cat, Frankie.

Herndon Village Network thanks Hannan and all of its other drivers for the valuable service and neighborly friendship they offer. To learn about becoming a vetted, volunteer driver, please visit https://herndonvillagenetwork.org/volunteer/.