Another fun month has passed at the Centre. The number of participants in activities and number of meals sold were down as could be expected with members away for summer holidays. However, our financial situation stays strong.
We are constantly hearing from individuals and organisations that the Sunshine Coast has a critical shortage of accessible transportation and that many individuals are “shut-ins” either from a lack of resources or dependence on others. Our bylaws state that we should service our members but also aid the broader community. In fact, maintaining our status as a Charitable Society requires that. We are currently working on a proposal in collaboration with other individuals and organisations on the Coast, to address the accessible transportation issue of shut-ins.
In putting this proposal together, we need some information. Although there is general agreement that there are many people who could use improved access to transportation to our Centre or for appointments, shopping or other structured events, we do not have a sense of how many community members are desperate for this service. To justify any service, we need to know how many people we and others can potentially help. In order to gather some of that information we would like you to complete our survey form printed in the September edition of the Echo.
If you are in need of accessible transportation or know of anyone who is suffering social isolation and is in need of transportation, please complete the form. To protect their identity but for us still to check that we are not double counting individuals we ask for their first name and first letter of their last name and their postal code, or town or area. They do not have to be members of the SSAC. You can complete this form and drop it off at the office or email the information in to , or even phone the information into the main office.
The proposed accessible transportation plan will require volunteer drivers for a few hours per week to a full day as needed. If you would like to offer to be a volunteer driver once this program is developed and have a regular class 5 license and clean driving record, please complete the form and submit it to the main SSAC office.
At the SSAC, the Board, our Staff and wonderful volunteers are committed to improving the lives of our members and those in the broader community that we can reach.
