Villa residents have a sweet new ride.
Residents and donors unveiled the new St. Mary's Villa bus, complete with new decal, for the press on March 13 before taking it for a short spin around the community.
It's been five long years since the St. Mary's Villa Foundation (SMVF) began putting away funds for a new bus to transport the Villa residents around the community, reported SMVF executive director Donna Muench.
But last year, in their final year of fundraising, they found out that the amount they had planned on spending on a new bus wouldn't get them the kind of bus that they wanted.
"When we started this project five years ago, we estimated a new bus would cost $85,000," Muench said. "So we thought we'd put a little away every year."
Then last year, after they asked a company that manufactures this type of bus to come out so they could look at the options, they realized they would have to customize a bus to make it work well for the residents.
And the pricetag for that kind of a bus was much higher than they had thought.
"We realized we were really short," Muench said.
They would have to spend $80,000 more than they had planned "to get a bus customized to the Villa's needs," she said.
So the SMVF set out to raise an extra $80,000 with their "Get on the Bus with Us" campaign.
They had hoped to raise the extra funds in a year, but that didn't happen.
It only took them six months.
The Good Neighbour Store and Conexus both made large donations that allowed the Villa to order the bus sooner than they had planned.
The Good Neighbour Store has been a huge supporter of the SMVF for years, Muench noted.
Over the past five years, the Good Neighbour Store had donated well over $100,000 to the Foundation, she said, and most of that money went towards this new bus.
Conexus came forward with a $20,000 donation that allowed the Foundation to close the campaign.
Representatives from the SMVF, Conexus and the Good Neighbour Store were all on hand for the official unveiling of the bus, decals and all, on March 13.
The new bus is pretty impressive, with several features that the old bus didn't have.
For one, it has heat, the residents joked.
The heating system in the old bus had pretty much quit over the past couple of years, as had the air conditioning.
The windows of the new bus are also lower, and the residents inside sit higher, which allows them a better view.
"We can see," said resident Fidelis Burkart.
Instead of a lift to get wheelchairs onto the bus, it has a ramp, which allows staff to get wheelchairs on and off the bus far more quickly. In the winter, that means everyone stays a lot warmer, as no heat is lost while one wheelchair makes the slow trek up and in.
The restraint system inside the bus is also far easier for staff to use.
And the seating inside is flexible. There are seats for six people who walk, and space for five wheelchairs, plus two of the benches of seats can be put up to fit in another wheelchair. There is also more space for walkers in this new bus than there was in the old one.
So anywhere between 10 and 12 people can go on an outing - more than the other bus could fit, and its seating wasn't flexible in the least.
The van is also self-adjusting. That means, on the highway, even if the road isn't level, those inside the van are.
And the ramp will adjust to the height of the ground outside, detecting whether there is a curb and its height. The driver can also adjust the ramp.
Already, the van has been put to good use. Residents have been on a shopping trip, and more outings are planned for the future.
"They are just wanting to go again," said Muench. "They love it."
The recreation program at the Villa loves it, too - getting residents out of the Villa and into the community just got a whole lot easier.
A celebration of the arrival of the new bus is being planned, which will allow the public a look at the new bus.
The old bus, meanwhile, is the property of the Saskatoon Health Region.
