SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — For veteran Tim VanMarten, volunteering with the Disabled American Veterans Transportation Program at the Syracuse VA Medical Center is his way of giving back.
He spends his mornings driving veterans to and from medical appointments across Central New York. But VanMarten is not just a driver – he is also a patient.
“I have Parkinson’s and diabetes, things on my liver that have been caused by Agent Orange, and they take exceptionally good care of me,” VanMarten said. “And like, I have to pay back. I’m able to do this.”
The DAV program provides transportation free of charge, a service that veterans say is critical.
“We’d be suffering without it,” said veteran Thomas Moore.
The program is powered entirely by volunteers, many of them veterans themselves.
“I get to pay back a little bit. They take good care of me at the hospital,” VanMarten said.
According to DAV officials, the program has served nearly 12,000 veterans. The program’s four vehicles have logged more than 200,000 miles serving veterans.
“Here we have four vehicles right now. There are over 200,000 miles. Those vehicles are sitting out everywhere in Central New York,” said DAV Coordinator Dean Fletcher. “I gotta keep emphasizing Central New York because it’s just not Syracuse. It’s Central New York.”
The program covers territory from the Pennsylvania border near Binghamton to the Canadian border at St. Lawrence County, Fletcher said. Despite having 38 drivers, the geographic span creates ongoing challenges.
“That sounds like a lot, but you have to consider the geographical area that we can take care of,” Fletcher said.
To support the program, DAV has raised more than $5,000 toward new vans. Each van costs up to $30,000 out of pocket.
For volunteers like VanMarten, the financial challenges will not stop their commitment to fellow veterans.