Families and older people enjoyed free excursions on Forres Osprey Bus this summer
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CHILDREN, parents and carers enjoyed free trips offered by a community transport service during the summer holidays.
And Forres Osprey Bus is calling for more volunteers while continuing to take older members of the community on excursions further afield in September.
Development officer, Shaun Moat, confirmed the Osprey Bus trustees offer activities and outings to people who cannot access transport or have difficulty doing so.
He said: “Our family trips were a great success, helping families on low-income enjoy the school break.
“A total of 98 families took part in several activities, including trips to Vue cinema Inverness to watch ‘Barbie’ and ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’, Pinz Bowling Elgin, to Macduff Aquarium, Infinity Trampoline Park Inverness and Landmark Forest Adventure Park Carrbridge.”
The Osprey Trust used funding from the Moray Council School Holiday Fund to cover the cost of fuel, admission and lunch.
The trips were advertised on social media and the Osprey Trust also had referrals from Childrens 1st, social work teams at Moray Council and headteachers from local schools.
Some of the feedback included: ‘It was so great to see our daughter smile’; ‘Seeing all the faces of the fish close up was amazing’; ‘Being able to spend time as a family without the worry of the cost was great’; ‘Meeting people in similar situations with the cost of living and not being able to afford trips was great’.
Free Osprey Bus trips for older people are running until mid September.
Mr Moat said: “So far, we’ve had around 40 people join us on trips to Fort George, a boat trip from Burghead harbour, Inverness Botanic Gardens and Dundreggan Rewilding Centre. We are also looking into more trips to Alpaca Days Out at Mosstowie.”
Forres Osprey Trust would like to run more free day trips and see how else the bus can be of service to the community.
“We need more volunteers to serve as board members,” explained Mr Moat, “helping to guide and oversee - for a couple of hours each month - what the charity does.
“Our board meets monthly. The commitment would include helping to look for funding and plan the future of the service.”
He added: “We are also looking for volunteer drivers to join.
“They can commit to something every week or as and when required. To have a group that we can call on when needed would be great.”
“Drivers need to be over 21 years old and have a full driving licence. If volunteers are over 70, the trust will complete further checks for insurance.
“Our board meets monthly and we are keen to increase the number of board members.
“The commitment is generally a few hours-a-month to help run the charity, look for funding, and plan the future of the service.”
Email info@forresospreybus.co.uk for more information.
