The Davies Project has been in the news lately…
September 30, 2026
Segment on WILX/News 10 local broadcast
The Davies Project seeks volunteer drivers to transport patients to medical appointments
September 30, 2026 + October 5, 2026
Article in Lansing State Journal
Volunteers drive sick kids to medical appointments. How to get involved.
Key Points
• A Lansing nonprofit that provides rides for sick children and expectant mothers is facing a volunteer driver shortage.
• The Davies Project provided a record 4,300 rides in 2025 but has seen a decline in active drivers since then.
• Volunteers use their own vehicles, set their own schedules, and are reimbursed for mileage.
• The organization was founded by a mother whose own son’s cancer treatment revealed transportation barriers for other families.
LANSING — A few years ago, Kathy Johnson had to scale back the time she spent driving sick children and their parents to and from medical appointments. Her family obligations had to take priority, but she still misses the volunteer work and encourages others to give it a try. “I miss the contact with staff and the families,'” said Johnson, 79, of Lansing. “You got done with a drive and you thought, ‘That kid wouldn’t have gotten to that appointment if it weren’t for me.’ You just know you did something really important.”
Founded about 12 years ago, The Davies Project in 2025 provided the most rides it ever has, about 4,300, to sick children and expectant mothers, mainly in Greater Lansing but sometimes to Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor or Detroit The effort grew significantly over the years, from 362 rides in 2016 to 1,637 in 2021.
But the nonprofit headquartered at 405 W. Greenlawn Ave. is challenged to maintain that overall uptick since it has been losing older drivers like Johnson, said Pamela Riley Miklavcic, founder and director of The Davies Project.
Son’s cancer diagnosis led to creation of nonprofit
Miklavcic started the nonprofit in 2014 after she realized she wanted to help families. Her 3-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer nearly 30 years ago and during more than three years of chemotherapy, she realized kids on the same treatment schedule weren’t showing up for their appointments. A big factor was lack of transportation.
“We really need to get our word out,” said Miklavcic, whose son survived cancer. “We’re driving seriously ill children to all their medical appointments. We need some volunteers to make that happen. These are kids who would have missed their appointment without us or expectant moms who would have missed their appointments.”
Volunteer drivers use their own vehicle, and there’s a 2023 Chrysler Pacifica van for out-of-town trips. Drivers can choose their own schedule. They are reimbursed at the federal rate of $0.70 per mile.
The nonprofit’s name honors Dr. H. Dele Davies, who Miklavcic knew when he served as chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. He’s now chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Those interested in becoming a driver would need to meet several requirements including having a valid driver’s license and liability insurance, being 20 years of age or older, going through a background check, and training on procedures, including cultural competency and proper installation of child car seats.
This year, the organization has about 60 volunteers, down about 15 from 2024. The nonprofit averaged 357 rides a month in 2025, and provided about 333 rides each month this year, through August.”I would say 2024 was our highest year in terms of how many drivers were active and how many rides we were able to provide weekly,” said Drekia Cook, the nonprofit’s volunteer recruiter. “Right now, we’re at about 50 per week, whereas back in 2024 we were able to do about 63 per week.”
‘You will be absolutely amazed at how much good you’re doing’
Mike Nestell, 78, of Williamston has been a volunteer driver for The Davies Project for a decade.
“(Miklavcic) does a great job with fundraising. We have facilities. We have snack packs (for) the families,” Nestell said. “Early on, we didn’t have near as many potential rides. It wasn’t so difficult. But lately … We struggle to get enough drivers.
About half of the nonprofit’s volunteers struggle with other obligations and priorities, meaning that some drivers, like Nestell, are doing two or three trips a week, he said.
Training for the program is online, and Nestell encourages others to see if The Davies Project is the right fit for them.
“You will be absolutely amazed at how much good you’re doing by transporting these kids,” he said. “We also transport prenatal mothers — pretty essential for a healthy delivery.”
The Davies Project has an approximately $500,000 annual budget. The nonprofit was able to get a Kalamazoo chapter running by May. The virtual operation has about a dozen volunteer drivers. They provided about 120 rides over the summer months, Miklavcic said.
The nonprofit is hosting a Nov. 14 Driving Change Gala at the University Club of Michigan State University. Tickets are $100. For more information, visit https://thedaviesproject.org/
Contact editor Susan Vela at suela@Isj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela
Photos
The Davies Project driver Mike Nestell checks the tally of rides given in the office before leaving to pick up a client.
Child car seats are ready to go inside The Davies Project office
Packaged snacks for people using the transportation service in The Davies Project office.
A lounge area inside The Davies Project office.
The Davies Project driver Mike Nestell leaves the office parking lot to provide a ride to his second client of the day.
