A LOCAL woman has been thanked for her ten-year commitment to the volunteer neighbourly local transport group, The Four Villages Link.
Marysia Garbutt was presented with a bouquet of flowers and an inscribed vase by the Chairman, Keith Rayword, to thank her for her commitment to the scheme over the past ten years. Marysia was a member of the Four Villages Link committee and she served as the publicity representative for most of her ten-years.
“I’ve met so many wonderful people in my ten years at Link and so many have a story to tell; I’ve met some real characters in my time!” said Marysia. “You really feel like you’re helping someone and you get such a good feeling from that as well.”
Marysia said that the reason she had to stop her involvement with the Link was that she needs to focus her attention to her husband who has Parkinson’s. Marysia now sometimes finds herself using the Link scheme as she is occasionally unable to drive to appointments.
“Things have come full circle now”, Marysia added. “I joined Link ten years ago and since my eye problem I’ve been using the scheme to get to the eye clinic in Salisbury as I can’t drive after the treatment, so I really have seen both sides of this great scheme!
“This is definitely something I’d encourage other people to get involved with. The bus connections in Bratton aren’t great and there are plenty of people that need to get out and about. Providing a link to the surrounding towns and villages isn’t a big effort on our part and can mean the world to someone who isn’t mobile.
“Link really helps out, especially if you don’t want to put your friends out asking for a lift every time; these people choose to do it!”
The Four Villages Link are always on the lookout for new volunteers, and Marysia says that new volunteers are vital to the continuation of the service, but she thinks people are put off by the idea that it imposes on your personal life.
“As a Link volunteer, you don’t feel obligated to give lifts”, Marysia explained. “The coordinators will call you a couple days in advance and ask if you can do a lift on a certain day and time and if you say you can’t then they say, ‘That’s fine’ and they will go and ask the next person.
“You can set boundaries of how far you will drive and what kind of journeys to fit your lifestyle.
“If you sign up this doesn’t mean you will be immediately called out – the Link works best when there are plenty of people doing it as you will be called out less, so if you are interested, please do get involved.”
The Four Villages link covers Bratton, Edington, Coulston, and Erlestoke. Anyone needing transport or assistance should call the coordinator on 07852 256 939. If you are interested in following in Marysia’s steps by becoming a volunteer driver, then please call the same number.
