Retired Navy Vet Offers Fellow Veterans Cab Rides and Conversation

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Kelly Cook. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Kelly Cook, now 68, grew up in Southern California and joined the Navy in 1973. He spent the majority of his 20-year military career in San Diego when he wasn’t at sea on one of 10 ships he would call home.

After his retirement, his desire for a lower cost of living and random chance landed him in Greensboro, NC. He had never been there and didn’t know a thing about the place, but that was where he met his wife.

It was also where his second career began at Lowe’s Home Improvement Store. When he bought his first home, he ended up going there so much as he was learning how to do residential home construction, he got a job in management that he kept for another 18 years. And when his second retirement didn’t stick, he wound up working for a fellow veteran with the City of Rocky Mount. Two years ago, his third retirement lasted. Working with veterans did, too.

Kelly found himself in a position to help and, thankful for his own health, decided to give back to those who served who weren’t as lucky. As a driver with the VA and Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Volunteer Transportation Network. He dedicates 72-84 hours each month driving patients to doctors’ appointments at VA hospitals in the area, ensuring our nation’s heroes get the healthcare they deserve.

What inspires you to volunteer?

I married after I retired from the Navy, around 40 years old. My wife and I decided not to have children and financially found ourselves in a position to support some causes that we believed in. I’ve always been healthy and consider myself extremely fortunate in that regard. I wasn’t aware of the challenges vets with disabilities face on a daily basis. Not more than a month or two after I retired, a friend approached me about driving, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

It’s a way to thank these guys, because they were nowhere near as fortunate as I was. They don’t have the ability to get back and forth to simple doctors’ appointments, and many of them don’t have a significant other or another person who can provide that assistance. When I show up at their house to pick them up, there’s nobody there. It’s me for them. And it can be tough at times.

I like being able to provide an ear for people, one that went through some of the same things that they did. I can also make a call to get information they may not be aware of or struggle to access.

Tell us about your volunteer role with Disabled American Veterans.

We drive four days a week, Tuesday through Friday. We have the VA hospital in Durham, which is about 90 miles away, and the outpatient clinic in Greenville, North Carolina, about 45 minutes. Tuesday and Wednesday, we go to Greenville. And Thursday and Friday, we go to Durham.

I let my area coordinator know my availability, and he’ll email me a passenger manifest. Driving schedules might, for example, look like this: I’m up at 6:00 am and out the door around 6:30 am. I go to downtown Rocky Mount to get the van and start picking up passengers at 7:00am. I’m in Durham by 9:30am, and I wait for their appointments to finish up. Then, I make sure they get home, and I’m done around 4:45 pm.

It’s a nine-passenger minivan partially funded by the VA and partially by a local dealership that we got post COVID. We’ve only had it for two years, and it’s already got almost 50,000 miles on it.

You also helped a patient build a ramp at one point. How did that come about?

We had a patient who lived by himself in a small apartment. The apartment was such that his walker barely fit through the door, and the steps up the back were poorly built. It was, in no way, in the best condition for him to get in and out. I talked to Doug Starr, the other driver at the time. He contacted some folks with his church, one of whom was a contractor, and we built a ramp on the back of the house.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

Being able to provide the service is rewarding. I know they’re appreciative. But there’s just me and one other driver in this district covering two counties and part of a large third. He drives one day a week. I drive one or two.

The DAV relies on volunteers. Many chapters around North Carolina don’t have any drivers and can’t provide the service. One of our biggest challenges is finding volunteers. It’s not an easy thing, because the VA requires a background check, an annual DOT physical, badges and annual safety training. All that stuff you’d expect of somebody who’s a professional driver.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

We could all go home every night after work or spend our days believing that somebody else will take care of it, that we don’t need to get involved. But nobody else is going to do it. For anyone with empathy or sense of compassion, it’s absolutely the most rewarding thing you can do. It doesn’t cost anything except time.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

Somebody asked me to do this, I said yes, and I enjoy doing it. I’m just another guy out there doing my part. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of people just like me across the country who are doing this on a daily basis for the VA. For me to be specifically recognized is humbling to say the least.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Kelly? Find local volunteer opportunities.