“As a unique service to the community, the Sunshine management team looked for a unique way of finding volunteers to be able to continue this service.
“We asked larger local businesses if they were prepared to put on their community hat and lead the way by allowing some of their staff to give a small amount of time to their community within their hours of work.
“We suggested a commitment of one day a month to assist our service, with variations of shifts available for more than one staff member on that day. The volunteer would be placed as an assistant with an experienced driver who could show them the ropes.”
Eastland Port took up the offer. Senior leadership team members put themselves forward as volunteers and are taking turns one Friday a month to help out with the Sunshine Service. While this is a trial period of six months, they are looking ahead to widening this to include other staff members in the future.
“The senior leadership team decided that we would roll it out as a trial period to see what is involved and how we could help,” said chief operating officer Andrew Gaddum.
“So far it is going really well. At the end of the trial period we will look to include other Eastland Port employees, although we need to consider that a number of our employees are shift workers,” he said.
Eastland Port communications manager Briar Robb found the experience very humbling.
“There is something really special about giving back to the community and seeing the smiles on people’s faces. I interacted with people that I wouldn’t usually come into contact with in my daily life and that really put things into perspective for me about community connections and how vital this service is. The time commitment is small yet it does so much,” she said.
Operational from Monday to Friday, the brightly painted yellow “Sunshine” vans are a common sight on the streets of Gisborne as they transport elderly clients and people with disabilities to where they need to be. They cover the Gisborne city area from Makaraka to Wainui taking clients to a variety of community groups, appointments they may have, the supermarket, out for lunch or visiting friends – outings that may not be accessible to them if it wasn’t for the Sunshine Service. They also have a contract with Te Whatu Ora to provide necessary transport for hospital appointments and treatments. The purpose-built vans are fitted out with wheelchair facilities and hydraulic lifts.
The Sunshine Service has a part-time manager, funded through grants and donations, who is employed five mornings each week to receive bookings, organise the driving rosters and maintain contact with the clients and drivers. Each van has a driver and an assistant when in operation.
A typical day for a Sunshine Service volunteer starts at around 7.40am when the team for the day meets in the office to receive their running sheets. Volunteers start off as assistants on the vans alongside an experienced driver. The assistants role is to support clients on and off the vehicle as required. It may be organising the hoist for a wheelchair or helping a client up the steps and making sure they are securely buckled in. The individual client’s needs and destinations are diverse and can include hospital appointments for treatments such as dialysis, drop off to community groups such as Sherwood Club or the Vanessa Lowndes Centre, drop off and pick ups from the supermarket for weekly shopping or simply an outing to visit friends or join in an activity.
The team returns to base around lunch time for a refreshment break, and then head sback out on the roads for the afternoon run. The day generally finishes at about 3.30pm.
