Grampian Volunteer Driver Recruitment Drive launched

A volunteer recruitment drive is being launched across Grampian to help community transport organisations address one of their biggest challenges. Finding enough volunteers to dedicate their time to transporting people to essential appointments is an ongoing challenge for many communities. Following the success of the inaugural Grampian Volunteer Transport Awards, organisations are working together to help support the invaluable work of the volunteer transport sector and attract new drivers.

The recruitment drive hopes to attract volunteer drivers to drive minibuses for community transport schemes or drive their own cars to transport people, for which they will receive a mileage rate. They also require people to act as escorts for some passengers in car and minibus journeys.

Andrew Stewart the Health and Transport Action Plan Programme Manager, a role funded by Nestrans and NHS Grampian, is helping to promote this initiative, “Many vulnerable people rely on volunteer services to help them access health and social care. The recent awards and recruitment drive have highlighted the significant efforts of those already providing voluntary community transport. We hope this recruitment drive will attract new volunteers to give something back to their communities, it is a vital pool of goodwill.”

As well as helping recruit more volunteer drivers the aim of the project is to establish and build relationships with partners across the health, social care and transport sectors. These relationships are key to the successful delivery of the Health & Transport Action Plan (HTAP). The plan is a shared, cross organisation, regional plan to improve partnership working across a range of transport and health related issues with access to services being a key issue.

If you would like to get involved please contact the following voluntary sector organisations who can assist:

Aberdeen: 01224 686076 volunteer@acvo.org.uk

Aberdeenshire: 01467 626060 central@vcaberdeenshire.org.uk

Moray: 01343 541713 info@tsimoray.org.uk

Many partners have participated in this initiative including:

•Aberdeen City Council

•Aberdeen City Community Planning Partnership

•Aberdeen Council of Voluntary Organisations

•Aberdeenshire Council

•Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership

•Community Transport Association

•First Aberdeen

•Moray Council

•Moray Community Planning Partnership

•Nestrans

•NHS Grampian

•Stagecoach North Scotland

•tsiMORAY

•Voluntary Centre Aberdeenshire