Family Service Kent, NeighbourLink Chatham-Kent, and the Canadian Cancer Society - Wheels of Hope are teaming up in an effort to recruit volunteer drivers.
"All three organizations offer accessible or affordable drives to people getting to medical appointments or social engagements," said Marie Bergsma with Family Service Kent. "Our partnership is important because we all work together to serve the community, and we often refer back and forth to each other, so it's important that we all have enough volunteers so that we're meeting the need."
This initiative aims to bridge the transportation gap and promote independence and social inclusion for vulnerable populations.
"We're all sort of in the same business in that we provide transportation for people who don't have access to it. There are a lot of people who don't, for whatever reason, they can't afford it, or people have different needs," said Al Baker with NeighbourLink. "The three organizations have this common problem of a lack of volunteer drivers."
Flexible scheduling is available, and allows volunteers to contribute as much or as little time as they can spare. Some training is required, but all three groups offer compensation.
"You do use your own vehicle. We do require a police check with a vulnerable sector search," said Bergsma. "There's some training that you do. It's a little bit different across each organization, and you do get either reimbursed for mileage or get fuel cards."
To volunteer with Family Service Kent, contact Marie Bergsma at 519-354-6221 ext. 230, Al Baker at Neighbourlink at 519-352-5647, or e-mail Mark Kahan, volunteer@cancer.ca for the Canadian Cancer Society - Wheels of Hope.
