Easylift A Finalist for Cox Cares $10,000 Grant

Easy Lift Transportation has been selected as one of ten finalists for the 2010 Cox Cares Grant. More than 120 nonprofits, from Santa Barbara County and Orange County, submitted applications for the $10,000 grant. The winner of the grant will be chosen by the public via online voting. Starting September 1, 2010, the public can vote online for their favorite nonprofit organization. The voting is open until September 15, 2010. The winner will be announced at an award ceremony at Cox’s headquarters in Rancho Santa Margarita on September 23, 2010.

The finalists for the Cox Cares Grant were selected by a committee of Cox associates and community and business leaders. Finalist selections were based on program quality and their potential impact on youth, seniors and education. The first place winner will receive a grant of $10,000 and the other finalists will receive grants of $5,000 each.

Easy Lift Transportation submitted its Children’s Accessible Transportation (C.A.T.) program for the grant application. This program is directed to the less advantaged children of south Santa Barbara County so they can access the numerous youth-serving programs available to foster a vibrant, healthy future. Any funds received will be used to support transportation for children from low income homes, shelters, and those who have lesser financial and physical means to access after-school programs. Many youth and teen programs do not have transportation in their budgets, whereas Easy Lift, as the designated CTSA (Consolidated Transit Service Agency) has the ability to transport children in a safe and competent manner. To cast a vote for Easy Lift’s C.A.T. program visit the Cox website voting area.

“C.A.T. is the sole program of its kind in Santa Barbara,” said Ernesto Paredes, executive director of Easy Lift Transportation. “No other agency has devoted itself 100% to the transportation aspect vital to bridging the space between Santa Barbara’s less fortunate children and the programs here to improve their lives.”

C.A.T. is free of charge to its recipients and is arranged through collaborative efforts with the partnering youth agencies. Since 2008, C.A.T. has provided over 8,000 rides to the less advantaged children of our community, and collaborated with many youth agencies including CALM, Domestic Violence Solutions, El Puente Continuation High School, Endowment for Youth Committee, Family Service Agency, First 5, Future Leaders of America, Girls Inc., Goleta Boys & Girls Club, Just Communities, Montecito Y.M.C.A., PAL, Santa Barbara County Education, Storyteller, Transition House, UCSB Summer Wheelchair Camp and United Way.

Easy Lift has provided transportation for people with limited mobility for over 30 years in south Santa Barbara County. With 22 wheelchair-accessible vans in its fleet, Easy Lift Transportation has developed a comprehensive backbone to support its operations. It is staffed with a team of fully certified drivers and an experienced operations department and schedules nearly 80,000 rides per year to keep up with Santa Barbara’s expanding aging community. For more information, visit our website.