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2024 ANNUAL REPORT
A Message from Board President Stephanie Clement
As I look back on 2024, one of the most memorable moments was walking out of the Island Connections Annual Meeting in October and seeing the brilliant colors of the Northern Lights dazzling the skies. It was almost like the universe was celebrating the time and talents of the Island Connections staff and volunteers. Well-deserved accolades!
The Island Connections Annual Report narrative and statistics give a great picture of all the things our small organization does for our Neighbors on Mount Desert Island and the surrounding communities. I am grateful that our donors, volunteers, and staff sustain our mission to help our Neighbors live independently through grocery shopping services and transportation access to medical appointments. We live with heart, enthusiasm, and a "can-do" spirit at Island Connections.
Thank you for being an important part of that team - whether by contributing financially, volunteering, or participating in our events such as the Mary Parker Race. I hope you will consider growing your support in 2025 as we look toward future needs. There is nothing more valuable than "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" - the motto of Island Connections.
Report from Executive Director Carissa Tinker
Reflecting on 2024, I'm struck by how much I've continued to learn this year - although at this point I can no longer claim the excuse of being new! What hasn't changed is how inspired I feel by the extraordinary people who make Island Connections what it is. The dedication of our volunteers, the resilience of our Neighbors, and the generosity of our donors remind me daily that this work matters. Island Connections isn't just a service - it's a community of people looking out for each other, and I feel privileged to be part of it.
2024 finished as our second busiest year on record, just behind 2022, and it brought in new highs in specific areas. We provided more grocery shopping trips than ever before and saw an increase in off-island rides. These shifts reflect a few key trends we're seeing in our community.
We are slowly seeing a trend towards more limited healthcare options on the island and Neighbors needing to travel off-island for both specialized and non-specialized care. Last year, 37.7% of our rides were to off-island, with 70 more rides off-island than our previous highest off-island ride year, 2022. These rides often require more time and coordination, as well as longer drive times for our volunteers who generously step up to make them possible.
Our grocery shopping program continues to grow each year, and we believe this may be tied to the ongoing housing challenges on the island. Grocery shopping trips are often the most flexible for volunteers to take on, since they can happen outside of standard work hours. For Neighbors without family nearby to help with these everyday tasks, we're proud to step in and provide that support.
In 2024, Island Connections also provided 14 rides categorized as "other" for the first time since 2020. At the start of the pandemic, we limited our services to essential rides for medical appointments and food access, and even with those restrictions, we've consistently provided more rides than we did before. The return of "other" rides this year reflects meaningful exceptions: we brought several community members to the polls to vote and gave a few social rides to wheelchair users so they could attend our own fundraising events.
We held three fundraising events in 2024: our first ever Sugar Showdown in February, Dine-Around-Day in August, and the 7th Annual Mary Parker Memorial 5k in October. We also ran our 5th Match Campaign, which raised over $32,000. Each donor plays a critical role in ensuring that our community stays a safe place to live independently, regardless of disability or age.
We added 63 new Neighbors, and 24 new Volunteer Drivers in 2024. A total of 107 volunteer drivers donated over 2400 hours of their time and drove over 58,000 miles throughout the year. This is the smallest number of new drivers that we've welcomed in recent years and is a reminder of how essential each volunteer is. Our volunteers live all over MDI, and a few of them even live off-island, choosing to volunteer during their workday when they are on MDI for work. Our devoted volunteers are the driving force of Island Connections and we are always in critical need for more volunteers to join our team.
Island Connections' overall goal is to continue providing free transportation, delivering food to our neighbors, and being recognized in the community as an essential resource. It is through the big hearts of our core group of volunteer drivers and the generosity of our donors that we are able to do this good and much needed work. We are looking forward to another successful year!
*Please note: You may notice differences in some 2019 and 2020 figures compared to previous reports. This is due to revised reporting methodologies. Specifically, the inclusion of two types of rides under a single tag in past reports has been rectified for accuracy in this year's data.
