Volunteer of the Month

July 2013 - Volunteer of the Month

JENA: I first learned about RightRides from previous Volunteer of the Month Clara Barton Green (February 2013). After reading about numerous violent assaults against women and the LGBT community, I wanted to do something to help. Clara, who had been volunteering for a while by that point, recommended RightRides, and I signed on to be a navigator.

Volunteering for RightRides is an incredibly fulfilling experience. The best moment comes at the end of each night (or the beginning of the next morning, as it were), when the dispatcher tells me how many people arrived home safe because of all the volunteers and their hard work. Knowing that we can make a difference and make the city a bit safer is very empowering. We don’t need a knight to come rescue us—we have become our own heroes, helping and supporting one another and ourselves.

I hope RightRides continues to grow, with more volunteers and more people taking advantage of the service across the city. Eventually, I would love to see the program cover every block of New York City, so everyone knows that they can get home safely, wherever they may live. The more people we help, the stronger we become.