Representing Montecito Bank & Trust is Javier Quezada, Goleta Branch Manager, Rob Skinner, Chief Operating Officer and Janet Garufis, CEO with Easy Lift’s Executive Director Ernesto Paredes.

To celebrate their longtime partnership with Easy Lift Transportation, senior executives with Montecito Bank & Trust participated in a ribbon cutting event for their newest adopted Easy Lift vehicle.

“Montecito Bank & Trust has been a supporter of Easy Lift for well over two decades and I couldn’t be prouder to stand with Janet, Rob and Javier as we cut the ribbon on another year of continued partnership,” said Ernesto Paredes, Easy Lift Executive Director. “Not only has Montecito Bank & Trust provided us with tremendous customer service since we started banking with them in the late 1970’s, but they’ve also been very generous to us through sponsorships and their community dividends grant program.”

Currently, Montecito Bank & Trust sponsors 15 of Easy Lift’s 24 vehicles. The program has been so successful that only one vehicle remains for adoption.

“Because consumers have become deadened to a certain degree with traditional advertising methods, providing a fresh vehicle (pardon the pun) for companies to reach consumers has proven very attractive,” said Melinda Johansson, Easy Lift’s Development Director.

100% of the proceeds from the Adopt-a-Van program are used to support Easy Lift’s mission of fulfilling the community’s need for specialized transportation to allow individuals and organizations access to essential programs and services.

Established 32 years ago with just one vehicle, Easy Lift has become a vital community presence as the sole paratransit provider and Consolidated Transportation Service Agency for south Santa Barbara County. With 24 wheelchair-accessible vans in its fleet, Easy Lift has developed a fully certified team to keep up with our expanding community of elderly, disabled, and disadvantaged passengers.

This past fiscal year Easy Lift scheduled over 74,492 Dial-A-Rides for 1,873 passengers. The Children’s Accessible Transportation (CAT) program, now active for three years, has collaborated with over twenty youth charities and provided over 8,000 rides to less advantaged children of our community. The Greatest Generation Accessible Transportation (GGAT) program, which commenced in March 2011, collaborates with senior-serving agencies beyond their Dial-A-Ride service, and has provided 1,800 rides in just six months.

For more information on the Adopt-a-Van program and other co-marketing opportunities for your business, please contact Melinda Johansson at melinda@easylift.org or (805) 845-8963.

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