A Ministry of helping people find work
Work is part of God’s plan for man. The Bible says (Genesis 2:15) “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Jesus worked as a carpenter (Mark 6:3) as well as a teacher and healer. He understood the value and importance of work reminding that only them who work “are worthy of their food” (Matt 10:10) and “laborers are worthy of their hire…” (Luke 10:7).
Paul was a tentmaker who preached what he practiced, telling early Christians (1Thess. 4:12) “to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly …and be dependent on no one”.
The Catholic Church (Catechism #2427) teaches that “Work honors the Creator’s gifts and the talents received from him. It can also be redemptive.” And (2428) ”Everyone should be able to draw from work the means of providing for his life and that of his family, and of serving the human community”. In an address at St. Peter’s Square, May 2013 Pope Francis said “Work is part of God’s loving plan… Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person.”
The need for low cost transportation to work and the Ride To Work Ministry concept
Review of client data from the local food pantry shows that when people find a job they either stop going or go only a few times a year rather than monthly. Church benevolence organizations similarly recognize the importance of employment in a person’s path to self-sufficiency. We know that work helps develop positive habits, skills, and self-confidence. We applaud local businesses for providing jobs and want to help them find reliable employees to fill their new jobs or help their current employees keep their job when they have a temporary transportation issue.
Oconee County, South Carolina is blessed with a vibrant economy, excellent employers, and wonderful local organizations such as SC Works, Goodwill Job Connection, SC Vocational Rehabilitation Development, Our Daily Rest, and many Staffing Agencies to help place people in these jobs. But a major job inhibitor is the lack of reliable transportation to someone’s potential place of employment. Some people who want to work cannot because they cannot get to work. Others have lost their job due to spotty attendance caused by transportation issues. We estimate that 5-10% of the area’s unemployment (75-150 potential employees) is due to lack of reliable, affordable transportation.
Business and Community Support for Ride To Work
The Oconee County unemployment rate is about 3-4%. Each .1% reduction means another 30 people are working. Since beginning operation, Ride To Work ‘graduates’, and those we are currently taking to work, account for about 140 people working, so we do make a positive difference in our area, and certainly in the lives of those who now have a job, and are on their own.
Comments from some local leaders:
Dan Alexander, Mayor, Seneca, South Carolina: “Many residents need assistance in acquiring a position of employment and then maintaining that position…. Ride To Work Ministry Nonprofit Inc. and volunteers assist residents in obtaining transportation.”
Lauren Richardson, (former) Executive Director, Our Daily Rest Homeless Shelter: “Ride To Work has been an invaluable partner for Our Daily Rest.”
Laura Mathis, (former) Oconee Dept. of Social Services (retired): “The Oconee Department of Social Services fully supports the Ride To Work program.”
Janet Hartman, (former) Exec. Director Oconee Economic Alliance: “For those who suffer with transportation issues, Ride to Work is a leader in creating change in accessibility in Oconee County.”
How Ride To Work Operates 
While we are not affiliated with any specific church, we work with several local churches for support of clients. An all-volunteer Board of Directors oversees the operations and all work is done by volunteers. There are no paid positions.
Applicants apply on-line at rtwministry.org and must have a job/about to get one, legitimately have no other means of transportation, have a talk/text phone, and have a “success plan” for finding their own transportation as soon as possible. Our volunteers meet and interview them to make sure they are ‘job ready’, arrange for the rides, and coach them on their success plan throughout the process. We provide low cost rides ($5 to $10 per day – depending on distance – for up to a few months) to give the rider time to find another ride or save money for their own transportation. Riders must be committed to achieving self-sufficiency. Along with the application and interview process we have found the rider’s willingness to pay a small amount for the ride is evidence that they have ‘skin in the game’.
We work with a local registered driver service or UBER at a higher cost (typically $25-60/day) to provide the rides and subsidize the difference with donations. We use drivers from recognized companies to get the benefit of the driver vetting and insurance from their company. These drivers are also willing to make trips at all hours and many entry-level jobs are 2nd or 3rd shift.
Who We Are
Ride To Work Ministry Nonprofit Inc. was incorporated as a non-profit in South Carolina in Aug. 2016 and is designated 501c3 tax exempt by the IRS. Our mission is to provide temporary affordable transportation to residents of Oconee County so they can transition to stable employment with a living wage and become self-sufficient. The Ride To Work Ministry Nonprofit Inc. Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers who have significant business and/or non-profit management experience and have a strong belief that work is part of God’s loving plan and a passion for helping others on their path to self-sufficiency.
How we spend your donation
Riders pay $5 to $10 per day for their rides (which cost about $20-40 per day on average) and we subsidize the difference with donations. Each year we provide about 2,000 rides to/from work at a cost to us of about $50,000. The expenditures break down as follows:
- about $47,500 (95%) goes to pay for rides or to fund/expenses related to helping riders find cars
- about 2,500 (5%) goes to pay for our insurance, and to maintain our website and P.O. Box.
We pay a registered local driver service, UBER or other public transportation network carriers to provide rides. There are no paid positions on the Ride To Work Board and volunteers do all coaching and related work including fundraising. We do NOT use any paid fundraising organizations.
The average monthly cost to subsidize a rider is $300 or more depending on route structure, how fast a rider finds their own transportation, ability to share rides and other factors. Not all riders are successful. Some lose their job or are dropped for violating our rules. But with the current driver and volunteer base we typically help 40-60 people annually and have about 50% graduate (i.e. get and keep their job, find their own way to work and move toward fulfilling God’s role for their lives!)
Our Privacy Policy
Our website does NOT depend on cookie technology to offer you services. However, the site has technology that lets us know you visited it on a certain date, and what pages you visited. No “Personally Identifiable Information” is collected by this website without your explicit permission (through use of our contact or application forms). This privacy notice will be updated to reflect information about our use of cookies if this changes.
We do not distribute ANY client, donor and or website visitor information collected by the website or gained through dealings with individual clients, donors, sponsors, etc., outside of the Ride To Work organization without your explicit permission. We may use your address and email information to send you periodic updates on Ride To Work, unless you advise us you do not want to receive it.
Credits
For credits and attributions for some elements used on this site, see the Credits page.