More Than a Ride: What Russ Nash Has Learned by Giving Back

When Russ, a resident of Delta, retired, he felt it was time to give back.

Cancer had touched his family and friends, including his wife, Shelly, who faced her own cancer journey in 2006 and has thankfully been in remission ever since. Having heard about the valuable support Volunteer Cancer Drivers Society provides, Russ felt becoming a volunteer driver was a meaningful way to help.

What he has discovered through volunteering is that a ride can mean far more than simply getting someone to an appointment.

For someone going through cancer, having a volunteer driver can mean one less thing to worry about on an already difficult day. It can mean having someone to talk to, someone willing to listen, and a little companionship along the way.

Russ has come to understand just how meaningful that simple act can be.

“I’ve learned that the small gesture of providing a ride to a medical appointment or procedure is seen as something so very important to someone battling cancer.”

But the experience has also given Russ something in return. Through his rides, he has met people from all walks of life and heard about their different experiences and journeys. He has learned from their resilience, enjoyed their conversations and, as he puts it, has even been “really entertained” on some of his drives.

“I have learned so much from the patients I have driven and truly enjoyed learning about their different experiences and journeys.”

His role with VCDS goes beyond providing rides. Russ also conducts orientation drives with people considering becoming volunteer drivers, giving him another perspective on the impact of the organization.

Two experiences during these orientation drives have stayed with him. When Russ asked two prospective volunteers why they wanted to drive, each shared that they had very recently lost someone close to them to cancer. One had lost his wife. The other had lost a child. Despite their own grief, both wanted to give back because they had seen how valuable VCDS was to people going through cancer.

For Russ, those moments brought home just how much a simple ride can mean. They also showed him how people can take an incredibly difficult personal experience and choose to use it to help someone else.

That is something Russ has witnessed again through his own driving. Patients and family members frequently thank him for making their day a little easier, for taking away one less worry while they focus on their treatment and their health. And those moments are what keep him coming back.

Russ says that knowing how valuable the service is to cancer patients makes it easy to continue volunteering. His experience has given him a deeper appreciation for the resilience of people facing cancer and for the difference that a small act of kindness can make.

He started volunteering because he felt fortunate and wanted to give back. Along the way, the people he has met have given him something, too: stories, perspective, connection and a greater appreciation for the privilege of helping someone through a difficult time.

For Russ, that privilege is what volunteering is about.

“The chance to help a really good person who is going through a really bad time is a privilege and something that one should willingly accept.”

And perhaps that is Russ’s greatest lesson from volunteering: you may start out thinking you are simply giving your time, but the people you meet along the way can leave you with something that stays with you long after the drive is over.