Volunteer with the Driver Network
What We Do
Since 2023, NRJ’s Abortion & Reproductive Support Network (ARSN) has helped clients in Niagara access abortion by providing funding, transportation, and referrals. We are 100% volunteer-run. Our biggest request is transportation. We vet and train volunteer drivers to help provide safe and secure transportation to and from abortion appointments.
Volunteering With Us
Volunteers can sign up to drive within Niagara only, as far as Hamilton, or as far as Toronto. When a transportation request is received by one of our case workers, they reach out to you based on your availability to see if you can help provide the transportation. We aim for 48 hours notice. When funding allows, volunteers are reimbursed for their mileage (we will tell you in advance if we’re not able to reimburse you). If you’re not available to help with a case, just let us know and we will ask the next volunteer!
There are no shifts. It is difficult to predict when a case referral will come in or the frequency of cases. When we have a case where transportation is identified as a need, we will first see if it fits with the general availability you’ve told us (what days you’re generally available and how far you’re able to drive). If it does, we will reach out to you via your preferred method (usually texting), give you all of the details, and ask if you’re free. If you are, great! If not, just let us know and we’ll find somebody else.
There is no minimum number of drives that you are required to take. Most volunteers are full-time workers, students, and caregivers and our availability fluctuates. You can take on drives as your schedule allows.
The majority of client appointments are during business hours, so if you’re almost always working during those hours, this volunteer opportunity might not be right for you.
Yes, this is a good volunteering opportunity for someone whose schedule fluctuates a lot. Case referrals are sporadic and come in at all different times and days, so no specific/consistent volunteering availability is required.
Yes! No prior knowledge is necessary, just a commitment to reproductive justice and a desire to help out your community members.
You will never be required to accompany a client into an appointment. Your role is to provide safe and secure transportation only.
Yes, you must have a car that is yours or that you have access to and are insured to drive. You must have an active drivers license and car insurance.
If you’d like to do client-facing case work to help people in our community access abortion, please inquire about getting involved as a volunteer with our Abortion & Reproductive Support Network.
We have a couple great volunteering options for folks who want to help with the back end organizing and don’t want to be interacting with clients. Unlike the Driver Network, this work would require you to attend a weekly one-hour Zoom meeting, so it is important to have more consistent availability. If you’re interested in getting involved, please email volunteer@niagarareproductivejustice.com and include your preference for what type of volunteering you’d like to do and we can get you started!
We do not have any physical location. We are a 100% volunteer-run community collective and our main source of funding is through individual donations. All of our work takes place remotely aside from a quarterly in-person meeting that happens at a volunteer’s house.
Niagara Reproductive Justice and ARSN are not registered non-profits or charities. We work with OPIRG, a local registered non-profit, in order to apply for grants and for accountability practices. OPIRG is guided by a Board of Directors who are able to receive incident reports on behalf of NRJ & ARSN volunteers and clients.
For sure! Please email us at volunteer@niagarareproductivejustice.com and we’d be happy to chat more over email, over the phone, over Zoom, or grab a coffee in person!