Can you smile and drive?

If you cannot see very well or are blind, our volunteer drivers can change your life and help you keep that smile.Our drivers give smiles and a lift to visually impaired people across Northumberland.

Our ‘Volunteer Transport Service’, which began in 2007, was a small project originally designed to transport clients to hospital appointments and low vision appointments at Vision Northumberland’s resource centre but has expanded greatly in recent years.

Vision Northumberland’s volunteer drivers became a lifeline for many, especially after the lockdown.

Not only driving clients to and from appointments, but also to social activities such as our visually impaired camera club, craft club, our in-house Chatterbox café, reading group, chess group, luncheons, social clubs and many more.

With support from Volunteer Coordinator, Rachael Bond, Vision Northumberland’s 16 drivers carried out over 1,600 journeys in 2024.

Our volunteer drivers come from all walks of life and play an integral role within our organisation. But Vision Northumberland need more drivers, more volunteers.

We are incredibly grateful to each and every volunteer who gives their time to us and our clients. One such volunteer is Malcolm who has been volunteering with us since 2023.

Malcolm retired in 2021 after over half a century driving coaches and trucks. Malcolm was at a low ebb when a suggestion from a therapist at his local GP surgery led him to Volunteering.

Malcolm says “Driving is something that I love to do. I love chatting to other people, and Volunteering has enabled me to meet lots of interesting people. I get on really well with the clients, we enjoy putting the world to rights as we drive to an appointment or to a social group.”

“I hope the clients see me not only as a driver but also as a friend. I have found volunteering very rewarding, give it a try!”

If you would be interested in becoming a volunteer driver, please call 01670 514316 or email [email protected]