Newsletter 61
100 Club
Thank you for your support which is a great help to ensure our scheme can continue to offer as many people as possible the services they require. Last year we raised £1622 for our funds. You may receive a written or telephone reminder when it is time for you to renew.
Congratulations to the winners of our recent draws – Thank you for your support. You can join the 100 Club at any time during the year, just send a cheque, payable to ODCTG for £12 to us at the address below or you can pay by BACS or Standing Order NatWest Okehampton Sort Code 54-21-14 Account No. 22127879 ODCTG
January February
1st Mrs Cynthia Sheppard, Okehampton Mrs Shirley Osborn, Okehampton
2nd Mrs Hilda Arscott, North Tawton Mrs Gladys Thatcher, Okehampton
3rd Mrs Hilary Leigh, Okehampton Mrs Angela Nixon, Okehampton
March
1st Mrs Betty Curtis, Okehampton
2nd Mr Donald Phare, Monkokehampton
3rd Mrs Audrey Bishop, Okehampton
Drivers
We are always looking for volunteer drivers and at the moment would particularly like to find someone from the Chagford, South Zeal and North Tawton areas. Please ring us for more information. We welcome Ken and Carole Doig from Lewdown to our team. We say goodbye and thank you to Sue Tarvit from Exbourne and Mark Wolf from Sampford Courtenay.
Retired Drivers
We recently hosted a lunch for four of our retired drivers as a small thank you, between them they had clocked up nearly 50 years of volunteer driving, quite an achievement! We really appreciate the time donated to our clients and the care and friendship which the volunteers provide, without them our service would not be able to exist.
To all passengers
We would remind you that if you are unwell you should not attend hospital/medical appointments to avoid the risk of spreading germs. Our volunteers would also appreciate it as they are obviously in the closed environment of a vehicle with you and we are concerned for their health.
We are currently extremely busy and would appreciate as much notice of transport required as possible please to ensure we can find a volunteer driver for you. Thank you.
Pop Up Shop
We were lucky enough to be offered another shop at the top of the Arcade so were able to transfer the goods across. This has been a very successful fundraising and promotional opportunity for us and we are grateful for all the donations of goods and help from our volunteers to run this. We are now having a break but will be looking for another suitable premises later in the year.
Tesco Bags for Help
We were pleased to have our application accepted and we will be one of three groups to benefit from this scheme. From 1st May to 30th June if you shop in Tesco either in the main store or the Express store in Crediton, then you will be given a token which you can place in one of the 3 boxes. The group who gather the most tokens receives £4000, second £2000 and third £1000 so if you know anyone who shops in Crediton Tesco please ask them to support us!
Website/Facebook
We will be launching our new website later in April – please check it out at www.odctg.co.uk and let us know what you think. Please also sign up by providing your email address so that you will be kept up to date with news and information. We also update our Facebook page on a regular basis – please take a minute to give us a review, we are always grateful for feedback.
LEAP (Local Energy Advice Program)
This is a FREE energy and money saving advice service for anyone on a low income, who has a long term illness or is in receipt of a means tested benefit like housing benefit. LEAP can help you to save money and to keep your home warm and cosy. They can offer a FREE in-home advice visit. The Home Energy Advisors can: Install free simple energy saving measures such as LED light bulbs and draught-proofing; check if you’re on the best energy tariff; arrange a FREE money advice consultation; help you find funding for further energy saving home improvements. Call LEAP on 0800 060 7567 to book your free home visit or visit www.applyforleap.org.uk to find your local provider.
Trips
PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU NEED TO CANCEL A TRIP, DON’T WAIT UNTIL WE RING YOU THE DAY BEFORE WITH THE PICK UP TIME AS WE HAVE ALREADY WORKED OUT OUR ROUTE AND RUNG OTHER PASSENGERS, OBVIOUSLY IF YOU ARE ILL AT THE LAST MINUTE THIS CANNOT BE HELPED BUT WE ARE RECEIVING TOO MANY CANCELLATIONS AT THE LAST MINUTE WHICH CAUSES US PROBLEMS WITH VIABILITY OF THE TRIP, PARTICULARLY NOW THAT WE ARE SUBSIDISING THEM SO MUCH, A RECENT TRIP WENT FROM 12 DOWN TO 4 ON US RINGING WITH PICK UP TIMES, THIS WASTES A LOT OF OUR ADMIN TIME TOO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION.
We usually ring the day before the trip to provide you with a rough pick up time, please note that this is only a guide as we may have to alter the route due to additions or cancellations or have a delay. We would ask that you are ready for collection from 9am to ensure the driver is not held up. Thank you.
WE HAVE DECIDED TO CONTINUE WITH THE SUBSIDISED COSTS FOR OUR TRIPS FOR THE FORTHCOMING YEAR AS A RESULT OF OUR SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING EVENTS. £6 FOR OKEHAMPTON AND ALONG THE ROUTE, £8 FOR OUTSIDE THIS AREA.
MAY 11 Endsleigh Garden Centre, Ivybridge
18 The Range & IKEA, Exeter
JUNE 1 Seaton Tramway £9 Adult for group of 12+ or £11 Adult
8 Lopwell Dam, Plymouth
15 Bude
22 Sidmouth
29 Looe
JULY 6 Teignmouth Airshow
13 Brixham
20 Tiverton Canal – Horse Drawn Barge Trip 2 ½ hours £13.95
27 Dawlish
MIDWEEK/SUNDAY TRIPS
Please note that these will be Okehampton (or along the route) pick ups only.
We may add more midweek dates if there is enough demand, please check with us or look on our Facebook page or Website for up to date trip information.
MAY 5 Sunday Lunch at The Countryman
16 Homeleigh Garden Centre, Launceston
29 Hartland Abbey and Gardens
JUNE 12 House of Marbles, Bovey Tracey
20 Buckfast Butterfly & Otter Sanctuary & Buckfast Abbey Gardens
JULY 4 Pub Lunch at The Tors, Belstone
10 Lifton Farm Shop for lunch
Coffee Morning – Saturday 30th March
A huge THANK YOU to everyone for supporting this, particularly the volunteers who came along to help,we raised a magnificent £450 for our funds.
Easter Bingo – Thursday 18th April 7.30pm Okehampton Conservative Club Hall
We had a full house for our Bingo, special thanks to Raymond Vallance for calling and Pauline Penna for checking the cards. We raised £330 for our funds. We will be holding another one in December so watch this space!
Mobility Aids
We currently have a range of equipment available including roadworthy scooter, mobility scooter, electric wheelchair and walking frame – please ring for more information or to view items.
Sue & Liz, ODCTG, Unit 3 Okehampton Business Park, Higher Stockley Mead, Okehampton, Devon EX20 1FJ 01837 55000 sue.odctg@btinternet.com www.odctg.co.uk Out of hours emergency mobile no. 07484525577