Dawlish Community Transport had some wonderful news last week, after an anonymous donor provided a cash gift that will help pay for a much-needed new minibus. (Read more about that here)

It's also been the week when the UK marked 12 months since the start of the first lockdown, as the Covid pandemic began to take hold in March 2020.

Since then, the work of the East Teignbridge Community Transport Association (CTA) has proved crucial in supporting local residents – and the charity is thanking all its staff and volunteers for their work.

As well as its usual services, enabling people to attend essential medical appointments, the CTA has been one of the 12 organisations helping with food deliveries, under the 'Helping Dawlish' initiative.

It's also been a social lifeline for many people who would otherwise have been isolated – and, since the start of the vaccination roll-out programme, has been transporting people to and from the clinics to get their jabs.

Since visits to care home residents became possible again, the CTA has been enabling people to see their loved ones again, after months of separation.

The charity's Ring and Ride service had to stop during the initial lockdown, but resumed in August with reduced numbers - only six per minibus, instead of the usual 16. Since the start of the current lockdown in January, with its tighter rules on social distancing, the CTA has only been able to carry passengers for essential shopping trips.

Sally Preston from East Teignbridge CTA said: "It's been a really hard year. We've been working with a very much reduced team, but we've been able to continue throughout the whole pandemic. No-one anticipated it would go on this long.

"We've always known the good work our volunteers do and the community has seen that throughout this period. The feedback we get from passengers is that it's not just about getting them to their appointments, it's as much about the journey with our drivers and the empathy and compassion shown to them. Passengers value that."

An appeal for more volunteers

Sally said the CTA is hoping to take on more volunteers as the Covid restrictions are lifted.

She said: "Without our volunteers we wouldn't have got through this and we will be looking to recruit more – hopefully more people will want to be part of that with us. This pandemic has shown that we all need to work together.

"The greatest impact has been the loss of the social side from the Ring and Ride, including trips out, and that affects people's mental wellbeing. Some passengers haven't been out that much, and their mobility and confidence has changed, so we're trying to ascertain if their needs have changed. We've had an increase in wheelchair users but all of our vehicles are adapted to accommodate all.

"We're looking positively to the future and will be looking to wider funding opportunities. We're always ready to support the community and we're looking forward to helping people get back out in the community as restrictions are lifted."

For more information visit the CTA's website