One year in dog years, I Ride celebrates its seventh birthday

Jamie Jima has both lived in Seeley Lake and driven for the Seeley Lake Community Foundation I Ride program for just over a year. In that amount of time, she’s covered 5,000 miles, bringing older community members to Missoula or to the local clinic in Seeley Lake for various medical needs. She started volunteering to meet people and introduce herself to the valley.

“I have met lots of interesting women,” Jima said. “Some of the women who have been in this valley are very interesting … They have stories and they’re fun. They are feisty, fun women.”

The passion and need for the program celebrating its seventh birthday was apparent in the wooden community foundation meeting room. In its seven years, volunteer I Ride drivers, like Jima, provided 2,138 rides for Seeley Lake and surrounding area residents and drove 100,000 miles total, taking elderly community members to their medical appointments and back home. This service helps older residents maintain their independence, age in their homes and connect with other riders and drivers while getting their medical needs met.

In an old state like Montana — about 20% of the population is 65 years or older, according to 2020 Census data — Seeley Lake’s most populous demographic is that same category, which is also where the highest rate of poverty lies. Two hundred and sixty one men, the largest age bracket, are 70 to 74 years old and 195 women are 65 to 69. Terri Nall, I Ride driver when the program first started in 2017, said in its early years, there wasn’t much support. It was really close to failing, Nall said.

“With Claire (Muller, community foundation executive director) coming on board and all of you here today and all that’s happened, it’s just heartwarming,” Nall said. “I’m just so thankful.”

I Ride began with two borrowed vans until the community foundation received a grant that allowed it to purchase two vans of its own.

One van has reached 50,000 miles — two trips around the equator, or 12,500 boat rides the length of Seeley Lake, Melani Best, Seeley Lake Community Foundation office manager and I Ride dispatcher, said — and the other clocked 20,000 miles, or 5,000 boat trips the length of Seeley Lake.

These vans operated successfully throughout the covid-19 pandemic, Muller said. In 2022, the program doubled the rides it gave in 2021 and in 2023 I Ride reached 600 rides, which is three times what was reached in 2021, Muller said.

One I Ride passenger spoke at the celebration about being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a year ago and at first not being able to roll over in bed. Because of I Ride, he’s been able to get into physical therapy and doctors appointments two or three times each week.

“It has helped me to get to where I am today,” he said.

Barbara Chandler, 84, has been an I Ride rider for six or seven years and has lived in Seeley Lake since 2005. She takes rides into Missoula for a variety of appointments. When she has something coming up, she calls I Ride and lets them know her needs, and they get her where she needs to go. It’s allowed her to stay living independently.

“It was just a godsend to me and all of the drivers were wonderful,” Chandler said. “They’ve become my friends, too,” she continued.

When asked about the future of the program, Muller said the community loves the service and there is demand for more. They get requests to fulfill a lot of different rides, including non-medical rides, rides from areas farther away from Seeley Lake and last-minute or one-off rides to the airport.

“Trying to find what is the right fit for this community and what the demand is while also keeping in mind how to have it sustainable and not burn out the resources that we do have, which are the resources in this room, is paramount,” Muller said.