THE Swan Hill Neighbourhood House community transport service will stay on the road, thanks to generous support from the Murray Downs Golf and Country Club.
As part of its annual community grants program, the club presented $15,000 to the organisation, as well as $2300 to Riding for the Disabled, $2000 to A Good Kitchen and $5000 to Murray Downs Fire Brigade .
Neighbourhood House manager Kate Bishop said the two organisations had built a strong relationship, with many club members also volunteering with the house.
“We have a crossover with the club’s members, golfers are Op Shop volunteers and some also drive our community car.
“Between both of us, we are really grateful for that.”
Ms Bishop was thankful for the funding as expenses continued to increase.
“It’s a very generous amount and will be extremely well used because the car is getting more and more booked,” she said.
“We are having to turn people away because it’s already booked on a particular day.
“The more we can keep the car as new as we can, the better it is for the comfort and safety of passengers and our fantastic volunteer drivers.”
Ms Bishop said the $15,000 would keep the car on the road.
“Today we had to replace the tyres and it had a service – that’s a big hit,” she said.
“As the car goes through its life with us, we re-evaluate what we have got in the car fund to go towards upgrading to a new vehicle.”
Ms Bishop said the vehicle went on 13 trips last month – one trip to Melbourne, 11 to Bendigo and one to Mildura – racking up more than 5200km.
“We get feedback from people that say without the service they had no idea how they would access specialist appointments,” she told The Guardian.
“They would have to miss them, so it’s a really great service.”
Passengers are asked to make a contribution to the door-to-door service. The contribution is calculated as a return trip per kilometre, for example Kerang is $50, Bendigo $85 and $150 for a return trip to Melbourne.
Passengers accessing the transport service may be eligible for the Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS).
VPTAS covers some of the travel and accommodation costs incurred by rural Victorians when they must travel more than 100km one way for specialist medical treatment.
All not-for-profit local organisations, as well as those involved in community or professional sports, are encouraged to apply through ClubGRANTS when the next round of applications open up.
The board, management and staff of Murray Downs Golf and Country Club said they were very proud to partner with the local Swan Hill Neighbourhood House to provide funding for the community transport program to the local community.
“The club understands there is a genuine need for a service such as this one in our local community and has supported the program with funding of over $55,000,” the club said in a statement.
“This service is greatly beneficial to so many residents in our community.
“For over 30 years, the club has played a significant role in assisting and funding many local organisations whether they are sporting or community assistance based and we are always on the lookout for more applications when new rounds of funding open up.”
