Molly’s Angels pitches telephone-reassurance and volunteer rides for Rio Vista seniors

Shannon LaBlace White of Molly's Angels told the Rio Vista City Council on March 18 that the Napa nonprofit is expanding a volunteer-run program into Solano County to provide weekly telephone reassurance calls and volunteer transportation to medical appointments for residents age 60 and older.

"We match a volunteer with a participant who wants to have a call, and they basically establish a social connection over the phone once a week," White said, describing the Molly Cares Call program and noting the group also runs driver-based rides and paratransit in Napa.

White said Molly's Angels has more than 1,000 enrolled clients and a mix of paid staff and volunteers in Napa; last year the organization logged about 4,600 rides and 5,700 care calls there. The Solano pilot is funded by the Napa–Solano Area Agency on Aging (since July 2024) and will operate in English and Spanish, she said.

Volunteers must be 18 or older, pass a background check and complete mandatory training that covers incident reporting and mandatory‑reporting duties. White emphasized the program is intended as social support, not a substitute for mental‑health counseling: "If somebody might need more support than we can provide, we will refer to a partner agency," she said.

The presenter also said volunteers and staff log notes and that the program aims to make warm handoffs to partner agencies when needed. Council members thanked White and encouraged local outreach to recruit volunteers and participants.

The council did not take action; White left contact information and invited event invitations and volunteer referrals.