Pink Cars with Toyota Badges: Helping seniors get vaxxed

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It’s the way most community grassroots operations begin: with a small handful of people recognizing a need, and just getting it done.

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Pink Cars is a volunteer organization in York region helmed by Shanta Sundarason. When the pandemic started in March of 2020, she assembled an army of 300 volunteers to sew PPE. Many of them were seniors, and when vaccines became available a year later, many of those same volunteers told her they were unable to access computers to sign up, or to get to appointments. Her next venture was formed to assist them, and she started with two volunteer drivers; within a week, she had 40, a crew that eventually grew to 80 covering all of York region.

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“We learned that York Region seniors are unfamiliar with online booking platforms and were not comfortable taking public transportation or ride-sharing services to their vaccine appointments,” said Sundarason. “Within days, our team created a telephone line to assist seniors with booking their appointments and also offered free shuttle services.” To date, they’ve helped 10,000 seniors book appointments and ferried 500 of them to those appointments. While currently on a hiatus, Sundarason reports the website will be prepared to help with booster shots when they become available.

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The program was a natural fit for Stouffville Toyota. General Manager Kevin Baxter saw an opportunity to put Toyota’s Cars For Good program to work. Created in 2020, the program was a chance for Canadian Toyota dealerships to lend vehicles to community organizations. 

“We’re grateful to have the Pink Cars team supporting York Region seniors with safe, reliable, and free shuttle rides to and from vaccine appointments,” said Kevin Baxter, General Manager at Stouffville Toyota in a release. The loan of the 2019 RAV4 Hybrid by the dealership was initially set to provide transportation for about 30 residents, but all told, 400 were safely chauffeured to their appointments. Recognizing the need not just for safe transport, but also with assistance in booking those appointments is evidence of how community-based volunteers can mobilize and deliver — something Toyota’s Cars For Good recognized, too, when the pandemic began.

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In May of this year, Downtown Toyota and the Downtown Auto Group teamed up with Women’s College Hospital to provide a similar service — and vehicles — in that part of Toronto. Clarington Toyota in Bowmanville partnered with the Bowmanville Older Adults Association by providing a RAV4 to assist their members when the headquarters were forced to close during the pande mic. The association provides transportation for its seniors for appointments, as well as social outings. 

In Burnaby, B.C., Destination Toyota was able to extend their ongoing assistance to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank by providing a Sienna. This minivan was large enough to help volunteers get around, but also make deliveries.  

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North Bay Toyota used the Cars For Good program to team up with their local radio station and created “The Kindness Cruiser”, a C-HR kitted out to travel in the Nipissing region “doing good deeds, dispensing random acts of kindness, and helping those in need,” says the dealer’s Andrew Auger. 

Ste-Foy Toyota in Quebec City joined with Pharmacy Brunet to assist with delivering prescription meds to that store’s customers using a Mirai hydrogen fuel cell EV. 

All the vehicles used in the program sport decals that highlight their purpose, and it doesn’t hurt that they let people have access to some cars they might not see as frequently, like that Mirai. If you’ve even been a volunteer driver for any organization, you appreciate how rapidly the costs can accumulate when using your own car. When programs like Toyota’s allow organizations to team up and step in, it’s a welcome relief. 

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In addition to the pandemic outreach at the community level, in March of this year, Toyota launched a national program called Toyota Cars For Good. “ Three organizations will be awarded a brand-new 2021 Toyota vehicle, including any modifications required for physical accessibility (each valued at up to $70,000). Three additional organizations will each be awarded $5,000 to continue their important work fostering inclusion through physical accessibility in their communities,” says Toyota . Registered Canadian charities were invited to apply earlier this year, and winners will be announced this fall. 

I asked Sundarason where the “Pink Cars” name came from. She laughed. “I had an hour to pick a name that wasn’t taken for the website. My first car back in England in the 1960s was pink!”