KerrKonnect: 120 people on the waiting list, and every new driver removes three of them

David Robbins cannot drive. He has been legally blind since birth. His guide dog, Price, was with him Wednesday when he appeared on Lead Live’s Nonprofit Week to describe an organization built around a problem he understands personally.

When a person can no longer drive — whether because of age, disability, or medical condition — they do not simply lose a convenience. They lose access to their doctor, their pharmacy, their grocery store, their family. In rural Texas, where there is no bus network and taxis are sparse, that loss is total.

“Losing one’s keys shouldn’t mean losing one’s freedom,” said Robbins, KerrKonnect’s executive director.

KerrKonnect provides free transportation to seniors and disabled residents across Kerr County who have no other way to make necessary trips. The organization currently facilitates more than 700 rides per month. It also has more than 120 people on a waiting list that stretches eight months.

The organization runs entirely on volunteer drivers coordinated by staff including Albert Vasquez and Georgianna Itz. The math of the volunteer problem is unusually direct: every new driver who joins the roster removes three people from the waiting list, because each volunteer can absorb enough rides to serve that many clients.

During the July flood, KerrKonnect volunteers provided free rides to survivors who needed to reach disaster recovery centers and resource hubs — adapting the standard transportation model on the fly for emergency purposes.

Robbins acknowledged that the organization is preparing to move to a new location and is actively planning the operational transition.

The recruitment message is simple: if you have a car and a few free hours each week, you can measurably reduce the isolation of 120 people who are waiting for help.

To volunteer as a driver: kerrkonnect.org.