CARING law firm staff have funded almost a year’s fuel for one of Worcester Wheels’ minibuses, helping elderly, disabled or vulnerable city people get to their hospital appointments, to school, out for the day or simply to meet up with friends.
The £2,500 donation from Harrison Clark Rickerbys’ Charitable Foundation will cover the cost of fuel for one of the charity’s 10 minibuses for 50 weeks – they run five days a week and get through £50 of fuel a week as they operate around the city and surrounding villages.
John Warham, chair of the charity’s trustees, said: “So many people find other forms of transport very difficult to use, so this is a vital service. We take children with learning difficulties to school and back, we help elderly people not only to get to important appointments but also get them out to see friends and relatives and we give people some independence.
“We are very grateful for this generous donation – we want to be able to continue to help as many people as we can. We know that many of the people who use our service are otherwise housebound or have very limited mobility; the service is their lifeline in many ways.”
The service runs with a handful of paid staff and a large group of volunteers; they offer a fixed rate service within three zones centred on Worcester and calculate one-off rates for trips which go further afield. The charity serves about 600 people of all ages.
Dawn Oliver of the HCR Charitable Foundation said: “I’m so glad that we have been able to make a real difference to the people who use Worcester Wheels – they provide an excellent service and we’re delighted to be helping to keep them on the road.”
