A charity in Melksham that takes people to medical appointments and back again is celebrating its 30th birthday after serving the town since 1994.
Melksham & District Link Scheme is run by volunteers and it is estimated that their volunteer drivers have travelled more than a million miles, helping their neighbours.
The charity officially began on 27th April 1994 and a party is currently being organised for the summer to celebrate the milestone.
“The first meeting to discuss the idea of a Good Neighbours Scheme had taken place in December 1993, based on a scheme successfully set up in Box,” says chairperson Liz Rowley. “In March 1994 Melksham Town Council handed out a grant for £500 and so Melksham Link began.
“In May 1994, 27 journeys were made, in June 57; the 100th journey was made in July. When launched, requests for journeys were running at just over 50 a month. Thirty years later, this is the number of requests Melksham Link would expect in a fairly light week.
“By the end of that year, the organisation had attracted 33 volunteers. Compare that to today, with nearly 50 volunteers and 900 journeys completed in the first four months of 2024. In 2023 Melksham & District volunteer drivers clocked 72,772 miles, making 2,587 journeys.
“Until 2020, Link did offer to do a variety of things to help people, such as shopping or collecting prescriptions. We ran a skeleton service during the Covid lockdowns. However, since then, we have decided to concentrate on only providing trips for medical appointments. Getting to medical facilities if you have no car can be extremely difficult and public transport to hospitals is poor.”
The Link scheme concept has flourished countywide, with currently 45 active schemes in operation.
“Back in 1994, everything was done on paper but now Melksham Link, along with 12 others use a secure online database to marry volunteer drivers with clients,” explains Liz. “The software, developed by Marlborough Link, has really helped to speed up repetitive tasks and helps Link cope with growing demand for its services.”
Recently, Link was presented with a civic award from the town council for the work it does within our community. Liz said, “I was so proud to receive the award on behalf of all the wonderful volunteers at Link. Every one of them gives their time so generously and all of us get a huge sense of satisfaction from helping others.
“We are always looking for new volunteer drivers, so anyone who thinks they would like to help make a difference in the community should give us a call for an informal chat on 07979 129052 or find out more on our website https://melkshamlink.com/
