A dedicated 86-year-old man has received a volunteer driver of the year award for driving countless pensioners to hospital appointments.
Ken Fairweather was given the honour at the Grampian Volunteer Transport Awards from Aberdeenshire’s lord provost Judy Whyte.
The Luthermuir resident, who was born in Grantown, was awarded the prize due to his decades of work with the Mearns and Coastal Healthy Living Network (MCHLN) charity.
MCHLN has been involved in supporting the health and wellbeing of the over 50s in the area for 20 years.
A large part of MCHLN’s operation provides a heavily-subsidised door-to-door service to help elderly people make healthcare appointments.
‘Never been looking for recognition’
Mr Fairweather is a dedicated driver for the charity, donating up to four hours a week of his time to help others.
He has been involved in the community for 20 years.
“I was surprised and really humbled because I wasn’t expecting it”, he said.
“I have never been looking for recognition. If it wasn’t for this charity I have no idea how some of the people would get where they are going.”
The charity also received an award at the ceremony held in December at Woodhill House in Aberdeen, for Organisation of the Year.
Public transport unable to meet elderly needs
MCHLN has been reporting a higher demand for its already stretched transport network over the past few years.
Since 2016 they have seen a 300% increase in uptake for their transport service.
The charity says public transport is often unable to meet the needs of elderly people who live in the area.
Stagecoach East, which operates the main bus routes in the area has also been under increasing pressure due to the number of cancellations on their services as they experience a driver shortage.
The unexpected cancellations have caused many people to miss hospital appointments.
Charity has been a ‘huge help’ to elderly
But MCHLN clients say the volunteer driver service has made “a huge help”.
One person said: “The volunteers have always been on time and I have never been late for hospital appointments.
“Without this assistance and having no close family to assist I would have only been left with a taxi as transport which would come at a huge and unaffordable cost.”
Another said: “They’ve gone out of their way to get me to very early appointments without any trouble.
“After my eye clinic appointment, I have very poor eyesight and they even lead me back to the car and straight to my door as I can’t even see the door lock.”
Volunteers ‘make it possible’
The organisation has grown from a fledgling charity to now engaging some 200 older people a week in a 300-square-mile radius.
MCHLN funding and development officer, John Duncanson, said: “It’s all too easy for people on lower incomes, particularly in rural areas poorly served by public transport, to find themselves isolated.
“But it’s our volunteer network, people like Ken, that really make what we do possible.”
Despite volunteers donating 3,321 hours of their time in 2021, the charity says due to the increasing demand, its 80 volunteers are now reaching maximum capacity.
Mr Fairweather has been encouraging other people to get involved in the “fantastic” charity.
He said: “I am pleased the charity also received an award. They have a very worthwhile setup.
“One thing I have always been able to do is to sit behind the wheel and drive, but I am not sure how much longer I will be driving.
“But I will keep going for as long as I can.”
To get involved with the charity, follow its Facebook page.
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