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Kent Coast Volunteering Volunteer Car Scheme

In 2018 Dover District Volunteering Centre, Shepway Volunteer Centre and Thanet Volunteer Bureau. who between them have over 100 years of working within their communities, merged to form Kent Coast Volunteering.

We provided funding to support the merger and a further grant allowed them to:

  • increase the volunteer car scheme’s coverage in rural areas
  • improve efficiency in dealing with enquiries and access to transport.

The grant enabled the volunteer car scheme to:

  • increase the opening hours of the scheme
  • produce new marketing materials to promote the scheme and new hours
  • run a recruitment campaign for new volunteer drivers
  • deliver standardised training for volunteers across all districts
  • produce a generic handbook for staff and volunteers.

Drivers and volunteers alike love the scheme and value it for their own reasons.

I was immediately attracted to the position of volunteer driver. I like a focus to my day now that I am retired, I like meeting people and helping them, all while being out and about driving my car, where I like to be.

Angela, Volunteer Driver

The clients who use the service to get to their medical, shopping and social appointments are equally complimentary in their praise for the volunteer car service.

We think the service is absolutely wonderful and all the drivers are absolutely wonderful and the whole set up is absolutely wonderful and we don’t know what we’d do without it. We can’t speak highly enough of it.

Mr and Mrs B in Sandwich

I think the drivers should get national treasure status. They do their volunteering so valiantly. I would be devastated if it couldn’t continue. I rely on you.

Mrs R in Thanet