On a wet Tuesday night 34 legs arrived at VEST’s depot armed with enthusiasm and determination.

What else could we do but issue the lovely lot with brushes, buckets and mops and tell them to “get to it team”.

They didn’t disappoint. Within 45 minutes they had scrubbed, mopped, polished and buffed every vehicle in our fleet.

They left amidst the glare of gleaming windscreens and dashboards back to their meeting point at Cardiff Library.

 

Thank you Goodgym.  Please come back again soon!

 

If you are interested in getting fit and doing good please contact Ben via email bena@goodgym.org

or take a peek at their web page www.goodgym.org

 

This Summer Matthew White volunteered to complete the Wales Velothon in aid of VEST Community Transport.  After months of training disaster hit.  Matthew was injured and unable to race.  But all was not lost.  We have to say a big thank you to Alwyn who stepped in and took on this incredible challenge.  On 9 July Alwyn completed the gruelling 140 kilometre cycle around South Wales.  Well done and thank you Alwyn.

 

As a result of her amazing efforts and the incredible generosity of our supporters, Alwyn raised £2,200.  For a small charity like VEST this is a fantastic amount of money and helped us put the final touches to Dolly the Daytripper.  Thank you everyone who contributed.

 

 

 

This is the newest addition to our fleet, Dolly the Daytripper.  Dolly can take 16 passengers in superb comfort on our longer trips.  Dolly didn’t come cheap.  Every bus like Dolly costs us £60,000.  This is because she is no ordinary minibus.  She is fully fitted out to allow safe access in a wheelchair or using a walking frame.  Already she has taken CRUISE Bereavement Group to The Bristol Balloon Festival, our local Townswomen Guilds to The Royal Mint and Taffs Well Pensioners to Hereford. It’s clear she’s a firm favourite with passengers!  Over time all our buses will of course need to be replaced.  This is why we are so grateful to everyone who supports us in raising funds to make sure we have a comfortable, safe bus for every passenger.

Call Caroline to book Dolly for your Jolly.  We can take your group anywhere in the UK (subject to the availability of one of our lovely volunteer drivers)

On Sunday 9^th July 2017 Mathew White has offered to raise vital funds for us by cycling the Wales VELOTHON .  Mathew’s Mum works with one of the many supported housing schemes VEST supports and we suspect Mathew was subject to some arm twisting!
We hope he has eaten his Weetabix because it is a grueling ride.  Mathew will begin his journey from Cardiff, travel via Newport, Abergavenny, Pontypool, Caerphilly and finally 140 kilometres later back to Cardiff.  I’m exhausted just writing this but Mathew is confident and with your support, we know he can complete the challenge.

Please help him to help us continue to provide support to the most vulnerable in our community by donating as much or as little as you can afford.

You can donate directly by sending a cheque (or calling in to see us) at Unit 45 Portmanmoor Rd Ind Est, Cardiff, CF24 5HB or by following our link to our Just Giving page.

 

Thank you.

Can you help make a huge difference to our community?

We aim to support vulnerable older people by supplying door to door transport in fully accessible minibuses.

We currently need a volunteer driver to help visually impaired people get to a lunch club every Thursday. Your day would start at 9 am when you start picking up our lovelies to take them to a local church where they have a natter and a light lunch.  At 1.30 we return to take them home safely.

You need to be 25 years of age (to comply with our insurance policy), have a D1 driving entitlement (automatically granted if you passed your test prior to January 1997) and the ability to make passengers leave the vehicle grinning.

Here’s what John, our Wednesday man has to say about volunteering with us.

“Volunteering is about giving something for others, but honestly I get so much from this myself.  I have a sense of purpose and satisfaction from helping others and a deeper understanding and appreciation of the needs of others”

 

 

 

 

AS HEAD OF SECURITY OPERATIONS, I WOULD LIKE TO WISH ALL OUR LOVELY CUSTOMERS, DRIVERS, VOLUNTEERS, DIRECTORS AND SUPPLIERS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Telecare are a great company that we work with a lot.  Just recently one of our drivers, John went to pick up a customer and couldn’t get an answer.  We checked all our contact details but couldn’t get hold of anyone who could access the house.  Fortunately this customer was registered with Telecare.  Telecare were at the house in no time and able to get in.  Our customer was in but had fallen and broken her hip.  She was unable to answer the door or get to the phone for help.  Thankfully, they were able to get in to see her and get her to hospital.

If you would like further information please contact Telecare on 029 20537080 or http://www.telecarecardiff.co.uk

When the news of our recent break in reached our lovely customers at Western Court they decided to take positive actions.  Armed with cake, coffee, bric-a- brac and raffle tickets, the residents set aside an afternoon to raise funds for us.

Donations and proceeds for the event reached £200.00!

 

 

We can’t tell you how much this restored our faith in the community and we certainly need all the help we can get right now.

In this photo our Treasurer (left) has arrived to collect the cheque from the generous ladies and gents at Western Court.

Huge thanks to Ann White (scheme manager) and all the residents for helping us in our hour of need.