Community spirit drives connection
How did you get involved in Community ConnXions?
Being born and bred in the area, I was always aware of the charity as it has a big presence. In 2019 I volunteered to be an e-trike pilot, which involved taking people out to get a blast of fresh air - especially people that weren’t able to get out easily, and it was a real buzz to be a part of. A few years later I was approached to join the board as volunteer member. Then an exciting opportunity came up to get involved as a staff member, and after volunteering I looked at the role with different eyes. My previous experience working in health and wellbeing, transport and the outdoors knitted together. My family have links going back to the 60s and 70s with some of our service users. It’s an amazing thing to support people who knew me when I was a child. Sometimes I still can’t believe [that I got this opportunity], it’s a pretty amazing job. Ultimately, it’s mega rewarding to carry on the legacy.
How important is the service to the people you support?
Transport, access to services and health and wellbeing opportunities have been a golden thread since Community ConnXions launched 25 years ago. It started as a volunteer-led car scheme, to take somebody else to an appointment. Over the years we’ve developed into having our own vehicles including buses, and various social outreach projects from befriending to allotments. We are an essential service, making a difference to people’s lives every day. From helping people travel to shop to get food and retain their independence, through to creating opportunities for simple social connection that helps tackle isolation and loneliness, we support around 400 service users. We also work closely with other organisations, including Shinty Memories and Alzheimer Scotland. Some of our volunteers are in their 80s themselves – they have amazing purpose – and we are always looking for new volunteers.
How is the new trailer enhancing the service?
It’s been on a few outings already, to Wheels around Grantown and the Nethy Spring Gathering, so it’s being put to good use and it’s fantastic. For events it’s really easy to set up and it looks good - it has ramped access and fits e-bikes and trikes in it, allowing us to use them at community activities and improve accessibility. The trailer will also help us get more people on bikes, supporting more active travel. It gives that sweet spot that it’s still light and manoeuvrable, and really versatile. The feedback from staff and others has been great, and it will give us more capacity in the minibus itself for community transport services. It will also be available as a pooled resource for other community groups, reducing vehicle use, and we’re already getting inquiries about it.
What’s next for Community ConnXions?
We’ll continue to develop our service to meet the needs of the community and look for new opportunities. We have aspirations for a new office with our own parking, and recruitment in the future too. We’ve just celebrated our 25th anniversary which is a huge milestone. We came through a challenging period, but we are a resilient organisation – not just the staff, but volunteers and supporters as well. We want to keep going for another (at least!) 25 years.
