How the Freedom of Travel can be Transformative Thanks to our Friends at MerseyTravel
The team at Merseytravel have been great at helping to support our GiveGetGo program through their Community Project since 2017.
So far this year Merseytravel have provided us with 45 weekly bus tickets which are so valuable to our volunteers. The weekly tickets are vital in enabling our volunteers to engage and attend GiveGetGo twice a week. They also help our volunteers access volunteering opportunities, attend interviews and help take away the stress of travel costs during their first couple of weeks in employment.
The tickets truly help to remove a barrier for people. Here’s a quote from one of our volunteers, “The refunding of fares/travel cost was vital in my case, or I would never have been able to engage at all”.
Not only have Merseytravel been able to provide us with bus tickets but through their ‘Bike for work scheme’ 5 of our volunteers received a free bicycle, helmet and lock. This was the cherry on top of the cake for our volunteers as not only would this help to remove a barrier to work but also help towards improving volunteers’ mental and physical health.
Our volunteers who received a bike said, “I was given a chance to get a free bicycle via Merseytravel. It’s only been a couple of weeks since I’ve received it and it has truly opened up the city to me. I am using it daily to attend everything from group sessions to meeting with people over potential volunteering placements and also out of hours events/sessions that are helping me improve my mental and physical health”.
“Use the bike almost daily and it has been transformative for me”.
So on behalf of our volunteers it’s a massive thank you to our friends at MerseyTravel who’s help is vital in helping us to transform more lives.