Haddenham Community Vehicle
Haddenham Community Vehicle is a volunteer-led organisation that provides local transport for those with mobility issues, helping to alleviate problems of social isolation. The team approached Community Impact Bucks to get advice in the early stages of development.
The background
The Haddenham Community Vehicle initiative was conceived in 2014 to provide a personal transport service for people with disabilities who had difficulty accessing public or private vehicles. The vehicle was acquired and launched in 2015.
The challenge
As well as the initial challenge of raising sufficient funding to purchase a vehicle, there were also questions around governance, and how to ensure that the service is run well for the safety and benefit of local residents.
Starting from scratch, the group needed to address a number of key issues before they would be able to provide the much-needed service within their community, including approaching funders, setting up an appropriate governance structure, opening bank accounts and arranging insurances and routine servicing.
The solution
The group approached Community Impact Bucks early on in their development to get expert advice on writing a plan to provide a robust and effective service. The Community Impact Bucks team advised the group on the governance and funding opportunities, helping them to set up a management committee and to source the necessary funding.
The result
After several successful funding applications, in 2015 the group was able to purchase and register a vehicle, and launch the Haddenham Community Vehicle with enough funding to provide a free service to eligible residents.
The group is now a registered charity and is supported by 15 trained volunteer drivers. It is looking to the future with recruitment of a new generation of supporters – some of whom are recruited from the families of service users and can provide additional services.
“Community Impact Bucks was invaluable in helping us to set up and understand the operation of a community service such as this. We’d recommend any group considering a similar scheme to approach them for support.” Peter Quilleash Chairman– Haddenham Community Vehicle.
- For more information on Haddenham Community Vehicle, visit www.haddenhamcommunityvehicle.org.uk.
- If your volunteer transport scheme needs support, read how Community Impact Bucks can help on the Community Transport Scheme webpage.
- For more information on running your organisation, go to our Support for Groups for a range of online resources, and visit our Training and Workshops to see our range of practical workshops.
