WHY I BECAME A VOLUNTEER DRIVER FOR THE HOPE CANCER SUPPORT CENTRE

I heard about the work the Hope charity did when my partner’s sister was receiving treatment for breast cancer in Waterford Hospital. She was recommended to the Hope Centre for counseling and meditation. S

he was really happy with all the help, advice and services provided by the centre and she met many new friends there.

When she was finished her treatment she got everyone she knew involved in raising funds for the centre.

Shortly after that I saw an article in the Enniscorthy Guardian about the Hope Charity and it said that they were looking for volunteer drivers to ferry patients to their hospital appointments. As I was unemployed at the time with plenty of free time I said I could do that!

I sent in an application and after an interview and Garda Vetting I was accepted as a driver. I was introduced to the car and given details on the method of operation and the paperwork required for each trip by Paddy.

My first run was an easy one - pick up a patient in New Ross and drive them to Waterford Hospital and back.

Since then I have met a lot of wonderful people on drives to most of the Dublin & Waterford hospitals.

Mary does all the arranging of appointments between the drivers and patients and makes the driver’s job very easy.

My period as a volunteer driver for Hope has been one of the most satisfying jobs I have ever done and all the patients I have driven are really appreciative of this great service the Hope centre provides. The patients say they can concentrate on their treatment without the additional worries of Dublin traffic, parking etc.

Tom Noonan