Forres Osprey Trust looking to serve community even better
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A LOCAL charity providing free transport to the elderly, infirm and disabled is asking the community how it can improve its service.
The Osprey Trust offers free transport to the elderly, infirm and disabled in the area on a 15-seat minibus fitted with a wheelchair access ramp and drop step, driven by volunteers.
And chairman Shaun Moat hopes that as many people as possible attend the trust's AGM on Zoom on June 18 at 7pm to make suggestions about everything from deployment to fundraising - the service currently relies upon donations and grants.
He said: "This meeting is critical to the relaunch of the bus as we need to formally vote on the board. We also want to hear from users on how we can improve the service."
Ongoing fundraising is required to ensure the bus can be replaced every 10 years, and to afford the £8,000 running costs, which include tax, insurance, tyres, fuel and servicing.
Shaun explained: "We have a a permit that means we can only use the bus on donation and not on hire, so we can no longer offer it to groups for private hire.
"As soon as the lockdown was announced we immediately removed the bus from use due to our concerns about infection control and users being in the 'at risk' category. Instead, it has been used by donation by FACT to enable deliveries to those in need.
"The bus is there for elderly, disabled or children from Forres. We also serve a number of care homes and volunteer groups. We are always looking for more volunteer drivers."
See https://forresospreybus.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR1yo0_JHHUTcH6Wi4-dE0mXB3lMkvpvIoFO-cX8pWLXDoIj8cCU03keRrw for more information.
