ECHHO — The Helping Hands Organization
roject: Free transportation and medical equipment loans
Request: $15,000
ECHHO — The Helping Hands Organization has been keeping elderly, disabled and marginalized neighbors healthy, mobile and independent in their own homes since 1997. It runs two programs, both free.
Rides. Volunteer drivers take people to healing therapies, surgeries, disease treatment, grocery stores and pharmacies, so that a medical condition doesn't worsen for want of a ride. In 2024 the transportation program served 432 individuals; in 2025, 542; in 2026 it is on track for 634, and a record 56,581 miles driven on behalf of local residents.
Equipment. ECHHO lends out more than 2,600 pieces of durable medical equipment annually, serving an average of 140+ unique clients a month — roughly 1,700 people a year. Since 1997, that lending library has saved the community over $19 million in new equipment costs.
The barriers we don’t often talk about
The first is what happens when you outlive your network. ECHHO's most common client is some combination of elderly, permanently disabled, unable to drive, on a fixed or low income, and isolated by rural geography after the friends and family who used to help have moved or passed away. There is no one left to ask.
The second is that losing the ability to drive can quietly collapse a life. ECHHO tells us of a specific case: someone with a vision impairment who can't get to an eye appointment. With a ride, they accept life-changing retina care. Without one, life slowly degrades into more isolation, less mobility, less function. The ride is the hinge.
The third is stigma. Part of what ECHHO does is simply make the use of equipment ordinary; a cheerful hello when someone comes in for a commode or a shower chair, so that the whole community bonds a little over self-care, companion care and the humility that comes to all of us eventually.
The fourth is loneliness, and the driver is the answer to it. A volunteer driver is a person to talk to, and isolation and depression lead directly to less care sought, poorer outcomes and earlier deaths.
Here are the problems you can help solve
Demand for rides rises every year. The pandemic was the only interruption in nearly three decades of growth, and service levels have far surpassed pre-pandemic numbers.
Meanwhile costs are climbing. ECHHO pays commercial rent, and its landlord recently attempted an increase beyond what the lease allowed. An attempt to move next door into a larger space was declined. Another tenant may bid for the entire building. ECHHO is in early conversations about leasing or purchasing a different building, but nothing is settled.
The organization has already cut hard: staffing went from six people to three, and from eight-hour days to four, without any loss of income or goodwill.
What your donation makes possible
In order of size, ECHHO's costs are payroll for three part-time employees, office rent, volunteer mileage reimbursement, insurance, bookkeeping, computer consulting and printing. Your gift keeps that modest machine running, and it is genuinely modest, given what it produces.
UGN/Give Jefferson provided about 8% of ECHHO's revenue in 2025. Your donation this year helps a critical community resource hold its ground through a rent squeeze and finding a permanent home, while the rides keep going out and the equipment keeps coming back in.
