Sunday, May 17, 2015

Milestone: Giving Our 1,000th Free Ride!


Serving the Seniors

Oneonta’s Senior Bar Crawl was a perfect occasion to give our 1,000th free ride.

The SUNY Oneonta class of 2015 has played a big part in The Redemption Movement’s short history. Many of these seniors were sophomores when our church launched in the Spring of 2013. For half of their college careers, they've been shown God’s love on numerous occasions by our church outreach efforts. With this class, we've developed many meaningful relationships and taking 57 of them home during the crawl felt like an appropriate way to say our goodbyes.

Literally.
This was the first time that we've offered rides during the crawl, so I didn’t know quite what to expect. After learning about how busy of a yearly event it is, we committed to arriving much earlier than normal and parked in front of Choice Ultra Lounge around 6:30pm. Arriving early like this ensured that we would give our 1,000th ride during the crawl--our total going into the evening was 973. << Click here to read stories about the previous rides >>

What we didn’t know is that the bar crawl officially started at 6pm, so nobody needed a ride home that early. However, our time wasn't wasted. Parking in such a visible spot (outside of 3 bars), gave us a chance to interact with many of the crawl’s participants.

This was a very positive experience. We had a steady stream of students stop and talk with us (many of whom we've served and worked with in the past for various reasons), as well as pause to thank and high-five us. In all honesty, we felt like rock stars. This is amazing because we’re not seeking popularity, instead, our goal is to serve others in a dinigified manner. I think that us being shown honor in a setting like this gives merit to Jesus’ Golden Rule, “Treat others as you want to be treated.”

The Breathalyzer Was a Hit

We didn’t give very many rides during those first couple of hours, but we did get to provide another helpful service, breathalyzer tests. We bought a breathalyzer in March for such a reason as this. Up until now, we've only given a few tests for each outing, but for the Senior Pub Crawl, we had a constant crowd of people awaiting their turn to take the test. I feel like our new full-sized breathalyzer sign had something to do with it.

By the end of the night, we had administered 31 breathalyzer tests. 
 It was a learning experience for many of the participants. As the device calculated each test result, I would point to the sign and explain what the BAC levels are for getting a DUI. Granted, few of these students were planning on driving that night, but, for future reference, these test takers now have a better idea of how much alcohol it takes (and what it feels like) to be beyond the legal limit for when they will drive.

The most dramatic test came from a petite young woman who blew a 0.2 (the highest BAC level of the night). Her jaw hit the sidewalk when she saw the result because she felt fine. I had the opportunity to explain to her how her small stature meant that she gets intoxicated quicker than her friends. I could tell that the test made her want to slow down (or even stop) her drinking for the evening.

Giving Our 1,000th Ride

Come 9pm and we had given only 7 rides and parked in front of multiple bars. This is when the “second shift” started and I swapped one helper for another (in keeping with our two-person volunteer policy). By now, the students were thinking pizza and Tino’s was filling up. Therefore, we made Tino’s our HQ from 10pm on. All the while, we had the magic number of 27 in mind--that’s when we would hit the big 1-triple-zero.

We gave our 1,000th ride before midnight. The ride was extra special because it was to two Music Industry Club students. The MIC students have been a huge help to our church when we tried our hand at booking shows. Our 999th rider (Mike), is the drummer in the student band “Living Proof,” a band that we booked for November’s Town & Gown Gala (their first show). Earlier that evening, other Living Proof band members made sure to find our car for a picture. 
It was neat to see how the 1,000th ride worked out. Knowing that the next carload would contain the special rider, I happened to get simultaneously flagged down on Main Street by two different groups. I parked the car at equal distance from the two groups and they both begin to approach. My MIC friends were in group #1, and some rowdy bros that I didn’t know where in group #2. Thankfully, my friends made it to the car first and hopped in the backseat. I told the bros that my car was full and I’d be back to get them. They requested that I instead pick them up at a house a few blocks away (which I attempted to a little later and they weren't to be found). 

I refrained from telling my riders the good news until I was a half mile from their apartment. Upon arriving, I gave them a “1,000th Rider” crown and gift bag with some chocolate and sparkling grape juice. They were excited to receive the prize and were good sports about letting us take their picture.

It was a fun experience that was enhanced by social media. After we gave the ride we posted the picture to Twitter. Throughout the course of the night we would tell other passengers about giving the 1,000th ride and they would reply that they saw it on their friend’s timeline. It’s reasons like this why we live tweet the night using #OneontaRides.

Keeping the Rides Free and Thinking about the Next 1,000 Rides

By the end of the night we had given 57 free rides to a variety of people (bringing the all-time ride total to 1,030). All the riders appreciated the act of kindness and many asked about how they could support the service.

That night, we did our best to turn down people’s money, insisting that the ride is free because we believe God’s love is free. Though we refused people’s money, we did plant a fundraising seed, telling them how we want to fundraise over the summer so we can expand the service and make an even bigger impact when the students come back next Fall. I asked the passengers to keep an eye on The Redemption Movement’s blog and social media pages for when we launch the fundraiser, which will be a good opportunity to give.

The best way to get the latest on our fundraising plans is to join The Oneonta Designated Driving Crew on Facebook. With what we've got planned, 1,000 rides is just the beginning!
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