“It’s mind boggling to think how many clients we’ve supported since our first vehicle hit the road 40 years ago, and how many hours people have volunteered over the years to keep our operation running,” says David Dewar, Sunshine Service Manager.
A smaller purpose-built vehicle designed for individual pickups such as transporting clients to medical appointments was added to their fleet of four vans last April. David says the new vehicle has been an excellent addition as it’s easy to manoeuvre and has the capability to lower, making it wheelchair accessible if required and easy to load walkers in the back.
Aside from funding, one of their biggest challenges over the years has been recruiting new volunteer drivers and assistants. An innovative idea, which Eastland Port has come on board with, has been to approach local businesses for support, asking for a short time commitment each week.
“We’d love to see other local businesses offering a few hours to drive too. However much time they can offer – it’s a great way to be involved in the community, helping those who need it,” says David.
In 2019 Sunshine Bus Service established an endowment fund with Sunrise to provide clients and their families a place to ‘give back’, safe in the knowledge of where their donation will go.
If you want to actively support the Sunshine Service endowment fund click here.
Read more about their endowment fund here.
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