Becoming a HopSkipDrive CareDriver gave retired teacher Dolores Seifert the opportunity to earn a flexible income while continuing to do something she values: working with children.
Transcript:
Everyone knows how I value the work that I do, and how happy I am with it. My name is Dolores Seifert. I drive in the Los Angeles area, and I have been a CareDriver since 2015.
What I like most about being a CareDriver is just being with the kids. That’s number one.
I decided to become a CareDriver because I was retired from teaching. I had been in the field for 30 years, and I knew I didn’t want to go back into the classroom. Friends would offer, “Well, do subbing.” It’s like, “No.” But this gave me the opportunity to have some extra income and yet still be working with children.
I think that my 30 years of teaching in the classroom — I taught pre-K — and being a parent to two and a nana to six has given me some just really good groundwork to being a CareDriver. I use those things that I used as a teacher and as a parent to work with the children I drive.
I think what I’ve gained from being a CareDriver is . . . It’s just kind of love in general. How not to be judgmental, how not to see something and think, “Oh, it’s this,” and to find out it’s nothing like that. So, I think that’s what has been most important for me.
When I talk about my work with HopSkipDrive with friends and family — just sharing that — they know how happy I am being a CareDriver. I’ve even had my grandchildren [use HopSkipDrive] because I know they’re in good hands. But everyone knows how I value the work that I do, and how happy I am with it.
Being able to create mobility for all is very important. I’ve had adult riders that are in wheelchairs and I mean, there are people that I’ve, “Oh, I know this address. I’m going to go get him.” And whether it be children — I have some special needs children. They would not be able to . . . They’re going to school. They’re going to be with their peers, with adults who are loving what they’re doing. So, I think we provide that.