Phoenix Dial-A-Ride provider MV Transportation donates a week of fares for abuse prevention efforts

Phoenix, Ariz. - MV Transportation, Inc., the company contracted by the City of Phoenix to provide Dial-A-Ride service, has donated a week’s worth of fare revenues totaling more than $15,000 to aid a local abuse prevention and education charity.

The donation will be presented to the charity, Mending the Soul Ministries, at its annual Spring Celebration event April 19 at Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and Councilwoman Peggy Bilsten, both strong supporters of domestic violence prevention programs, are keynote speakers at the event. MV Transportation and the Phoenix Firefighters Association, along with Gordon and Bilsten, are event co-sponsors.

“We are so grateful to MV Transportation for seeing a need in our community and stepping up to help out financially,” said Bilsten. “Preventing domestic violence is one of the greatest challenges we face, and Mending the Soul does tremendous work with very little funding.”

MV Transportation CEO Jon Monson said the donation is part of the company’s mission to give back to the communities in which it operates.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to serve the greater Phoenix community, both in providing transportation for people who would otherwise have no options, and also through financial support of charitable organizations that need our help,” Monson said.

Bill Harbeck, executive director of Mending the Soul Ministries, said the funding will assist the charity in its ongoing work of reaching out to people wounded by abuse.

“MTS applauds MV Transportation for its heart in recognizing the need and the generous support to see the ministry move ahead,” Harbeck said. “The money will go directly to provide training and education to churches and civic groups throughout Phoenix."

Based in Fairfield, California, MV Transportation is the largest minority and privately-owned passenger transportation firm in the country. The company contracts with more than 140 local governments and transit agencies in 26 states and the District of Columbia to provide public transportation services for local residents. Locally, MV Transportation operates Phoenix Dial-a-Ride (paratransit) service and several local fixed routes.

Mending the Soul Ministries is a new non-profit organization based in the greater Phoenix area that educates and trains workers on the nature, prevalence, consequences, and healing pathway for survivors of abuse, including domestic violence.