By Theresa Knapp 

When American Legion Post 85 was in need of a vehicle to transport veterans to medical appointments, Commander's Liaison Rich Allain took to the airwaves of WOON 1240, specifically the radio show of Dave Richard and Gary Smith who often allow him to promote Legion services. 

“We have been having trouble getting vets in northern Rhode Island, and the southern [Massachusetts] towns that border Rhode Island, to their medical appointments so I was talking about it on the radio,” says Allain. Then, later that day, “All of a sudden, the telephone call comes in from [owner] Kevin Meehan from Imperial Cars who says ‘Hey, we want to donate a vehicle to you guys.’” 

 In February, Imperial Cars donated a vehicle to American Legion Post 85 to help transport veterans to medical appointments. Pictured here are (L) Rich Allain, Commander's Liaison for American Legion Post 85; Mike Penner, Executive General Manager at Imperial Cars; and Rob Lefort, Commander of Post 85. Courtesy photosIn February, Imperial Cars held a ceremony and donated a 2008 Chevy Impala with low mileage to the Legion. They also donated two years of free maintenance. 

“The car is like mint, it’s clean, and it’s beautiful,” says Allain. “This is going to help everybody. It’s going to help them in Providence too, we can take care of our vets in this area.” 

Typically, veterans call the Veterans’ Administration Medical Center in Providence to arrange a ride to a medical appointment but the demand is incredibly high, says Allain. In addition, after an appointment at the VA, vets are often referred to an outside specialist on another day which means they need another ride which creates an additional burden on the transportation system.  

“This is the area that the guys have been having a real hard time getting to their appointments, and we’re trying to alleviate some of that burden and by getting someone to donate a car, that’s just going to do the trick,” says Allain, noting the Legion currently has nine volunteer drivers. 

Allain says the Legion is very grateful for the car. 

“A big thank you to Kevin Meehan and the crew at Imperial Cars and [service] maintenance, we so appreciate what they did for us in donating the vehicle; and I really want to thank Rob Lefort who allowed me to take this project and really work with it.”

If veterans need a ride to a medical appointment, they should call the American Legion at 401-766-7585 and give their information to the person who answers, then a Legion member will get back to them to arrange the ride.