It’s been a period of ups and downs at HillsCarPal since my last report.
The “Ups” were
- Getting Dawn to her hairdressers and her monthly Vision Impaired Group meeting;
- Then it was Beth to & from the library; and
- Ursula out and about around The Hills on a triple-Ride day.
That’s not to mention, Elaine who finally made it to her Lions Club meeting one evening, courtesy of HillsCarPal. Then she used that opportunity to make a pitch, on our behalf, to recruit new volunteer drivers from the Carlingford/Epping area. Thanks Elaine!
We also managed a Ride home from Westmead Hospital for Lourdes on an afternoon a couple of weeks back, when Windsor Road traffic was halted owing to a fatal accident. That event needed a “tag-team” of volunteers to ensure Lourdes’ very late finish to her appointment – around two (2) hours beyond the original estimated time – and the traffic pile-up didn’t cause a hitch in getting her home safely.
Our volunteers handled all of this (and more) brilliantly. A real team effort across the community; both our drivers and our extremely patient and giving facilitators.
And backed up by the vo
lunteers and staff in Hills Community Aid’s office at the Baulkham Hills Community Centre. They are constantly taking messages and keeping communications flowing not to mention having our admin functions ticking over beautifully. All this so that our clients can received excellent service from us.
On top of all that we managed to add some serious additional volunteer resources starting with the commencement of our first Driver Support Coordinator, Suzanne Holgate who has already shown real commitment to preparations for ramping up the recruiting and training of new volunteer drivers.
The “Downs” included a website melt-down, serious delays from our contractor on running Police Checks for us and a slow uptake of new subscribers from our “Busy Families” campaign. But there’s nothing that you can’t learn from, as they say … and we are.
To help with that learning, I am happy to report that we have another five (5) volunteers in the pipeline; one driver, an additional Driver Support Coordinator & three (3) Facilitators, who will strengthen this critical ongoing point of contact with our clients.
All of this means that we are readying HillsCarPal to grow and to eventually expand its service area.
The need is great and every day we are hearing from Hills Seniors who are desperate to get around to medical appointments, social events, church-related activities and the like & even to vote in Saturday’s NSW election.
Helping our Seniors stay connected with their community and not fall prey to the isolation, loneliness and depression that can result in Shut-in Syndrome is why we exist.
And with a large network of supporters and volunteers helping us to overcome Shut-in Syndrome in our community, anyone who wishes to contribute, can do so in their own way and at times of their choosing.
To learn why HillsCarPal is not volunteering-as-you-know-it, subscribe to our Busy Families campaign. I promise you that you and your family will get something of great value from doing so.
All my best,
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