Hitching a ride
CARPOOL volunteers offer a safe ride home for Aggies
By: Emily Baker
Issue date: 9/22/05 Section: Aggielife
Amanda Dudley spends a lot of her time behind the wheel. As the chair of CARPOOL, or Caring Aggies R Protecting Over Our Lives, Dudley, a senior elementary education major, heads one of the most recognizable organizations on campus. Known for their famous lime green T-shirts, members of CARPOOL volunteer two nights every month driving Aggies home after a late night out.
"CARPOOL is a free, safe, non-judgmental ride home," Dudley said. "I originally joined CARPOOL because I wanted to be involved in something. I like the mission, the purpose and the people in the organization. They could be out every weekend doing something else, but these people volunteer their time because they care for other people in the community."
The student organization has earned the respect of the community and the Aggie family by offering students an easy method of transportation and working to decrease the number of drunken drivers behind the wheel.
Jeff Schiefelbein, Class of 2000, conceived the idea for CARPOOL after a run-in with the law.
"Started by Schiefelbein in April 1999, CARPOOL gave its first ride on Sept. 16, 1999," Dudley said. "Jeff was convicted of a DWI and was sent to a Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) panel where he heard a story about a mother who lost her daughter in a drunk driving accident. Immediately Schiefelbein felt compelled to make a difference."
Schiefelbein still keeps in touch with the organization he started six years ago, speaking at the CARPOOL Member Orientation every semester. He has seen CARPOOL progress over the years.
"CARPOOL is always improving," Shiefelbein said. "We are never content to stay the same. The development of the people and CARPOOL's culture has allowed it to thrive. Today's CARPOOL is more efficient than when I started it. In the beginning we were going to businesses looking for sponsors, now businesses come to the organization. The community has embraced CARPOOL, which is one of the reasons it has been so successful."
"CARPOOL is a free, safe, non-judgmental ride home," Dudley said. "I originally joined CARPOOL because I wanted to be involved in something. I like the mission, the purpose and the people in the organization. They could be out every weekend doing something else, but these people volunteer their time because they care for other people in the community."
The student organization has earned the respect of the community and the Aggie family by offering students an easy method of transportation and working to decrease the number of drunken drivers behind the wheel.
Jeff Schiefelbein, Class of 2000, conceived the idea for CARPOOL after a run-in with the law.
"Started by Schiefelbein in April 1999, CARPOOL gave its first ride on Sept. 16, 1999," Dudley said. "Jeff was convicted of a DWI and was sent to a Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) panel where he heard a story about a mother who lost her daughter in a drunk driving accident. Immediately Schiefelbein felt compelled to make a difference."
Schiefelbein still keeps in touch with the organization he started six years ago, speaking at the CARPOOL Member Orientation every semester. He has seen CARPOOL progress over the years.
"CARPOOL is always improving," Shiefelbein said. "We are never content to stay the same. The development of the people and CARPOOL's culture has allowed it to thrive. Today's CARPOOL is more efficient than when I started it. In the beginning we were going to businesses looking for sponsors, now businesses come to the organization. The community has embraced CARPOOL, which is one of the reasons it has been so successful."
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