Councilmember Dunn hands over the keys of “retired” County vans

July 15, 2014

Summary

Vine Maple Place, Tahoma School District Student Transition Program and Real Life Church among the recipients

Story

On July 15, Metropolitan King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn delivered three retired King County Metro vans to three organizations located in District 9: Vine Maple Place, the Tahoma School District Student Transition Program, and the Real Life Church of Covington. All three organizations serve important roles in their communities and are known to make a positive difference for the people they serve.

“These three organizations are integral parts of our community and I’m so delighted to help further their efforts by supplying them with a retired King County Metro van,” said Councilmember Reagan Dunn.

Vine Maple Place located in Maple Valley is an organization that breaks the cycle of homelessness by assisting single parents and their children build lives of hope, stability, and greater self-sufficiency.

“Thank you for the gift of this van! It is very important for us to be able to provide for the needs of the children through transportation to tutoring and counseling appointments, educational field trips and activities,” said Michelle Frets of Vine Maple Place. “It is also critical to help the moms with emergency transportation needs. Thank you for providing such a valuable tool to help these families build stability.”

The Tahoma School District’s Student Transition Program prepares students and young people with disabilities for a better quality of life and helps them develop as much independence as possible.

“Tahoma School District’s Student Transition Program is very grateful for the generous donation of a van from King County Metro and Councilmember Dunn. The goal of the Transition Program is to maximize the potential for developmentally disabled students to find employment,” said Linda Mount, Secretary of the Transitions Program. “Having this additional transportation available will provide our staff the ability to transport our students to a wider variety of employment training opportunities.”

The Real Life Church is an active community church located in Covington. Real Life Church assists members of the community in transporting seniors and youth around southeast King County for numerous activities and outings.

“Real Life Church feels privileged to receive a van from King County to assist in our effort to provide transportation for the disabled, low-income, young adults, and senior citizens of the Covington, Maple Valley, Black Diamond, Ravensdale areas of south King County,” said Steve Murray, the Senior Pastor of the Real Life Church.

The retired vans have been part of Metro Transit’s vanpool fleet for at least six years and have reached the end of their service life. When the vans reach this age, they are considered surplus. The vehicles that are not donated are sold.

Since 1996, the County Council has been donating retired vans from Metro’s Vanpool program to local nonprofit organizations to provide transportation for the disabled, low-income, young adults, and senior citizens. Governments, agencies and organizations that receive the vans must meet specific requirements.

The vanpool program provides mobility for a diverse array of King County residents, supports the positive work of various local organizations, and relieves traffic congestion by reducing the need for single-occupancy vehicles. Interested organizations can contact Councilmember Dunn at 206-477-1009 or reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov for more information on applying for a vehicle.

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Michelle Frets, Vine Maple Place; Rawna Hamann, Tahoma School District Student Transition Program; Reagan Dunn, King County Councilmember; Pastor Steve Murray, Real Life Church.