£1K TO HELP TRANSPORT ‘VULNERABLE’
Housebuilder donation comes at the perfect time for community scheme
A COMMUNITY transport scheme has received a major cash boost from one of the UK’S largest housebuilders.
Persimmon Homes West Midlands has awarded Door2door Transport a £1,000 grant as they continue to support local groups and charities in the area.
The team of volunteer drivers support people to get out and about in their communities helping reduce isolation and enabling people to maintain their independence.
Lisa Healings, chief executive of VAST who operate the project, said: “We welcome this donation from Persimmon Homes as it will help us continue this vital service in the local area.
“People who use Door2door Transport don’t have their own vehicle and cannot access public transport so they can be very isolated in their daily lives.
“Our drivers collect people from home and take them to any pre-arranged destination, giving support and ensuring they are settled back at home afterwards. The service is safe and secure to vulnerable people allowing them access to the outside world.”
During the pandemic the service became a telephone befriending service and ensured access to medical appointments as well as transport to centres when vaccinations were rolled out.
Lisa added: “The regular journeys and telephone calls provide a friendly chat and we do everything we can to match regular users with the same driver to create lasting friendships.
“However, we are approaching the end of a funding agreement that will not be renewed so this donation couldn’t have come at a better time.
“We rely on grants and donations to cover running costs and make sure we protect this vital service for the future.”
Persimmon donates up to £64,000 a month to fund initiatives
as part of the highly successful Community Champions scheme.
David Greengrass, head of sales for Persimmon Homes West Midlands, said: “Door2door Transport is a fantastic community scheme so we’re delighted to be able to donate this £1,000.
“They’ve had to make a lot of changes to the service because of coronavirus but the way they’ve adapted and continued to support the vulnerable is extremely commendable.
“It gives us great pleasure knowing this additional money will help keep such an important local service running and hopefully they can help many more local people in the future.”