The MK Volunteer Driver’s Service is recruiting new volunteer drivers to provide vital transport for members of the community.
The service has seen a significant increase in demand in the past month as COVID-19 restrictions have eased and the NHS has been calling forward people from waiting lists to have their treatment.
Many of these people are isolated, older members of the community that need help to attend their medical appointments.
That is why volunteer drivers are being called forward to help residents attend their chemotherapy and radiotherapy, physiotherapy, and scans, to name a few.
Volunteers can also help collect prescriptions and run errands for passengers.
For younger members of the community, the vital service enables regular transport for vulnerable children to attend school, play, and take part in therapy sessions.
Journeys are often regular, either daily, weekly, or fortnightly and can also be one-off requests. The team of volunteer drivers complete both local journeys and those over longer distances.
Heather Oddy, Engagement Manager, said: "Our pool of volunteer drivers is committed to covering each and every journey request we receive, and to providing a safe, welcoming and reliable service to all our passengers.
"Demand for journeys is increasing at a rate we have not seen before. We are therefore looking to recruit new drivers to join our team to ensure we can meet this demand and continue to deliver our service with excellence."
She continued: "We are especially keen to hear from volunteers who can commit to regular journeys for school runs, either morning or afternoon or indeed both, and those interested in fulfilling longer journeys on a regular basis, for example to Oxford or Northampton, to enable passengers to attend cancer treatments.”
Vivienne is a passenger of the MK Volunteer Driver's Service, and she regularly relies on the generosity of volunteers to get her from A to B.
She said: “Stephen, my Volunteer Driver, has made life easier for me and I can only reiterate what I've said in the past; that he excels at his voluntary job with excellence and every care with his driving and with his care of the passengers! I will always ask for him in the future and wish him well in every way.”
Contact the team on 01908 670309 or miltonkeynes@volunteeringmatters.org.uk @volunteering_uk to find out more about becoming a volunteer driver.
