A charity that helps cancer patients get to their medical appointments is hitting the gas on its Tri-City campaign.
This month, the Volunteer Cancer Drivers' Society (VCDS) is due to appear before Port Moody and Port Coquitlam city councils to make its case for financial and commuting help.
Society vice president George Garrett told The Tri-City News today the group has also reached out for assistance from the Tri-City firefighters after the Surrey IAFF local donated last year.
Currently, VCDS has only nine drivers to serve the Tri-Cities' cancer patients, he said. In January, they made 77 trips to clinics around the Lower Mainland.
"It's a lot of work and the need keeps growing," Garrett said, adding, "When a patient is initially diagnosed, they will sometimes have to go in for appointments every day."
Volunteer drivers are required to collect patients from their homes, take them to their treatment facility, wait with them during the appointment and return them to their residence.
The ride is free for the patient.
Drivers, who are compensated at a rate of 41 cents per kilometre, are required to have valid vehicle insurance (with a minimum of $3 million third-party liability) and provide a driver's abstract.
To pay for the driving expenses, VCDS has to raise about $10,000 a month; administrative expenses add to that total, Garrett said.
Last year, the charity received a $30,000 boost from the provincial government to provide its services around the Lower Mainland.
Coquitlam resident Michiyo White, a mother of two, said she has used VCDS and has developed friendships with the drivers. "These volunteers have been amazing to us," she wrote in an email to The Tri-City News.
• Visit volunteercancerdrivers.ca to drive or donate. Tax receipts are available.
