A SOUTH Warwickshire charity providing essential transportation, group activities and clubs to the area’s elderly and most vulnerable people has received a £1,500 cash boost from Cala Homes Midland’s community bursary scheme.
VASA (Voluntary Action Stratford-On-Avon), based in the town, supports around 3,800 local people each year by running one of the country’s largest community transport services to promote positive health and wellbeing and reduce loneliness.
Additionally, the charity also runs dementia groups, community allotments and provides respite for carers.
Over lockdown, VASA extended services take people to their vaccinations, deliver medication and food parcels as well as carrying out welfare calls.
Kirsty Holder, VASA’s Charity Manager, said the funds from Cala Homes Midlands would help them meet new demands arising from the pandemic.
She added: “These funds will go towards us offering new and increased services to some of the most vulnerable in our communities.
“We want to recruit 50 more volunteers and these essential funds will help us train them to run our groups and services which help alleviate pressure on Social Services and the NHS by improving the lives of Warwickshire residents.”
The Community Bursary initiative invites charities, voluntary organisations and community groups to apply for a share of funding from Cala, with more than 300 worthy causes now having received over £300,000 since Cala launched the initiative in 2016.
Visit www.vasa.org.uk/ for more information about VASA, and www.cala.co.uk/bursary for further details about the bursary scheme.