Charity appeals for volunteer drivers to transport children to medical appointments

Bill Mitchell

Transport for Sick Children (TfSC) is a charity where a team of volunteers drive sick children to hospital appointments throughout the Greater Manchester area. Our mission is to reduce stress and barriers to a family by enabling children to attend important medical appointments despite any transport, financial or social issues they have.

Over the past 5 years we have helped almost 4,000 children, undertaken 32,000 trips and driven over 500,000 miles.

Volunteer drivers (who are all checked for their suitability to work with children) use their own cars to collect the child along with their carer and drive them to their medical appointment. They then wait until the appointment has finished and take them home. Some drivers are out on the road most days and others a few times a month. We supply child car seats and drivers are reimbursed for petrol costs (50p a mile) on a monthly basis.

What is it like being a volunteer?

John Kirkham, volunteer driver, said: "After retiring and two enjoyable years driving for the local ambulance trust I felt I wanted something more community based and after some enquiries I found this volunteer role which is incredibly rewarding. I’ve met some really nice families and feel at the end of each drive that I have made a difference to that family and to the local community as a whole. Also the support given by the office team and other drivers means you never feel isolated and are always on hand to support you when the need arises."

The support team.

Making the vital link between families, referrers and volunteer drivers is a friendly, experienced team in the office. The support team assigns drivers to appointments and co-ordinates communication between drivers and carers to ensure trips run smoothly.

Interested in becoming a volunteer?

If you can spare a few hours a week, have your own car and want to help improve the lives of children in Greater Manchester then why not consider volunteering for the charity?

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please visit our website www.transportforsickchildren.org/volunteers/ or give Laura or Marie-Anne a call on 0161 443 4122.