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spotlight
HASLEMERE IS A country town, and has many
houses up on hills as well as in the valleys. Residents
have a superb location in which to live, but the roads
on the hills can be exceptionally treacherous during
snow and ice, as most of us have experienced over
the last few years. The main roads are gritted and
salted but people who live up these narrow winding
roads can easily become marooned in their
homes as these roads are not cleared.
Care in Haslemere needs more volunteer drivers and
duty officers for running its usual business, but we
do have an increasing need in coming winters for
drivers who have 4x4 vehicles.
We are a Neighbourly Help Charity founded in 1978
for the people of Haslemere and surrounding villages.
Our volunteers may help with shopping, collecting
prescriptions or other errands, and can also
visit lonely and isolated people. But in practice what
we do is to provide transport to and from essential
appointments. We take people to clinics such as
doctors and dentists surgeries, opticians and hospital
departments locally, and often further afield to
Farnham, Guildford, Frimley, Chichester etc, even
London. It is especially for those in need.
Volunteers use their own cars, and provide a very
personal service taking people from and back to
their own homes, often waiting with the clients at
their appointments. Our drivers give their time for
nothing but will never need to be out of pocket. We
pay a mileage allowance of 45pence per mile. There
is no actual charge to the Clients but they are asked
to make a donation, the amount depending on the
length of the trip. In this way the Charity is to a
44 x R&A HASLEMERE & VILLAGES
largely self- sustaining and does not need money
from outside sources.
Currently we have over 50 drivers, but to accommodate
requests, we need to recruit more. People who
enjoy driving and have the time to spare are very
welcome to join us. They would be unlikely to be
asked to do more than one trip per week.
We operate from The Methodist Church is Haslemere,
where we rent a small room. Our Duty Officers
man the telephone and take calls from our
clients, finding them volunteer drivers for their particular
appointments.
Our office hours are 10am to 4pm on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday, and 10am to 1pm on Tuesday
and Thursday. Duty Officers will work for three
hour sessions at a time.
In addition to this we also have a 10 seater minibus,
and run a weekly shopping trip in Haslemere for the
people from local residential homes and fortnightly
trips for residents in Fernhurst. Throughout the year
we use the minibus to run more than 20 excursions
to a variety of destinations, including Brighton, Worthing,
Bognor, Chichester and Portsmouth, and public
gardens such as Exbury and Wisley. All these trips
are driven by our volunteers.
So, we welcome volunteers to come and join us and
give a helping hand to local people in need. Volunteers
can choose what they would like to do - give
lifts driving their own cars, drive the minibus, work as
a Duty Officer, perhaps visit isolated people in need
of company, or give help around the house and garden.
The mileage allowance is generous, but the
feeling of doing something for your local community,
and the gratitude of the clients, is even better.
We value all our volunteers of course, but if you
have a 4x4 vehicle there will be times when you are
especially valuable!
For further information phone 01428 652505.
February 2013