Summary

Metropolitan King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn provided students in the Enumclaw School District’s Special Needs Transition Program with a vital step in their independence by presenting a retired Metro Vanpool van to the district to assist in transporting students to and from their internship programs.

Story

Young people gaining real-world work experience is a key to their independence. Getting that experience is difficult without proper transportation.

Today Metropolitan King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn provided students in the Enumclaw School District’s Special Needs Transition Program with a vital step in their independence by presenting a retired Metro Vanpool van to the district to assist in transporting students to and from their internship programs.

“This new means of transportation will allow students to gain important workforce skills,” Dunn said. “It is my honor to provide a van to such a well-deserving program.”

Enumclaw’s Special Needs Transition Program helps students with special needs get real-world work experience by connecting them with businesses and training facilities for internships and preparing them to succeed in their post-secondary education goals.

“The donation of the Metro Van to our EHS Transition program is tremendously important!” said Rod Lobdell, Enumclaw High School Transition program coordinator. “Our students need transportation daily to their internships in the community, internship that are the beginning of their hopeful journey toward future employment.  The Enumclaw High School Transition program is a launching pad into a meaningful future beyond High School that would not be possible without transportation. So we sincerely thank Councilmember Dunn and his office for this donation that means so much to our students.”

The retired van program provides county vehicles that have reached the end of their service life to local governments and community programs to provide transportation assistance for low-income, elderly or young people or people with disabilities.

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.