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Norwich Lord Mayors' Visit
Lord Mayor Roy Blower and Lady Mayoress Brenda Blower visit Norwich Door to Door to meet and travel on their new mini bus as the charity launch a new volunteer recruitment drive and celebrate achieving an end of year increase in passenger service delivery of twenty five percent.
The Lord Mayor Councillor Roy Blower and Lady Mayoress Beryl Blower visited Norwich Door to Door to engage with us as we develop the service to help ever more disabled children and adults in our community. In the last year we beat our target to achieve a record 18,500 passenger journeys.
Chairman Pat Howes who greeted the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress along with members of the Norwich Door to Door team and passengers of the service, was keen to stress that the success of the project is due to the dedication of the small base team of staff and 24 volunteers who work seamlessly together. The service is seeking to expand still further to meet demand from potential new passengers, and wants more volunteers to come forward and join the team.
Jill Gaul Project Director said “the service covers all generations from toddlers to nonagenarian’s with sixty percent of the membership over sixty five; all are living independently with their disabilities and mobility problems. The government supports the premise that we should live longer, independently and well. However our members tend to be marginalized, forgotten by society they are unseen and undervalued. We are advocating an inclusive not exclusive society. With fully accessible transport it is possible to join in and become involved in the community around you. There are good clubs, societies and meeting places in the city where people can meet socially and be involved, many of our passengers have skills that can be used to good effect, but transport is the by word and we provide the key to freedom and a higher quality of life”.
Margaret Dye one of the passengers representing the membership of Norwich Door to Door told Mayor Blower how the service has “given her back her life”. In her active youth Margaret sailed and explored world wide and then wrote of her adventures and her books sold all over the world. An injury and subsequent loss of mobility have meant that Margaret’s circumstances have changed she moved to sheltered accommodation and was feeling isolated and unsettled. Since joining Norwich Door to Door Margaret has been using the service to attend Tom Corbett’s Creative Writing Course at Wensum Lodge and do research at the Library in the Forum. Margaret has been inspired, and a new book is finished and awaiting publication. How’s that for pure inspiration “A Night To Remember” is expected to be available in July.
The charity applauds all the charities and groups who have helped to make the past year so successful. Local funding has been secured from Norwich Consolidated Charities, The Norfolk Community Foundation, The Aquarius Foundation, Norfolk County Council, The Colton Acre Charitable Trust, The Wroxham Lions and The Fitzmaurice Trust. Sponsors of the service include Kettle Foods, Holden Renault, John Lewis Charity Committee Norwich and Ipswich cooperative Society, Shell and D J Hood Body Service. Events including a Think different, do different, be different an evening seminar with Simon Middleton raised a total of £7,000. Donations are always needed and most welcome.
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