Sally’s Fund adds low-emissions vehicle to senior transportation fleet

Senior residents of Laguna Beach can catch a free ride around town via the Sally’s Fund transportation program, and they can help protect the environment by exercising that option.

A low-emissions vehicle was purchased using grant money from the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Laguna Beach received a $30,000 grant that paid for a new Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Sally’s Fund, a nonprofit organization in Laguna Beach, assists the city’s seniors by providing transportation services. Residents can utilize the program, which just picked up its second hybrid vehicle, to attend community gatherings and medical appointments, as well as to have groceries delivered.

“We currently serve a little over 300 older adults in Laguna Beach,” Rachael Berger, executive director of Sally’s Fund, said in a phone interview Tuesday. “During COVID, it exceeded over 500 because we expanded services to not only transport people, but also to deliver meals and bags of groceries. We’ve really expanded our services over the last couple of years.”

Berger said the organization primarily exists to bring transportation services to the elderly, providing assisted and escorted rides over a 30-mile radius. There are four vehicles in the fleet.

As the program expanded at the onset of the pandemic, Berger approached the Laguna Beach City Council to request additional funding. The city turned over the air quality management grant to Sally’s Fund, which allowed the nonprofit to upgrade its fleet.

“You can use the money under that grant for a variety of things that improve air quality,” Adam Gufarotti, a senior public works analyst for Laguna Beach, said in a statement. “One is to purchase an energy-efficient vehicle.”

While the city provides other ways to get around town, including the summer trolley service and the Laguna Beach Local on-demand transportation program, Berger said there are residents that benefit from the special attention that the organization delivers.

“There are so many people up in the hillsides that can’t get to the trolley or can’t get to the Laguna Local stop — which is also a wonderful program,” Berger said. “They just can’t get there because of the hills, or inability to walk or be completely stable. I think that’s what differentiates us from an Uber or Lyft, really, is that we’re providing escorted and assisted transportation, so we’re helping them from the front door, getting in and out of the vehicle, we’re escorting them into the medical facility.

“I felt like during COVID, I had over 500 kids. It was just, ‘Who needs what?’ It was just really, truly rewarding to be able to do that.”

For more information on this program, visit sallysfund.org.

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