Probus members give Sammy transport the thumbs up

Following the usual time at the bar where friendships and fellowship are nurtured and grow, a three-course lunch was served before members were exhorted to play their part in the success of the year by supporting the social functions and travel excursions planned, all of which would be advertised in good time.

The chairman's charity for the year is Sammy Community Transport and the club was pleased to welcome as speaker its manager/secretary Peter Wells.

His talk held the attention of the meeting from the beginning when it was explained that the Sammy title was to perpetuate the memory of Samuel Jay, a local businessman whose bequest enabled the first mini-bus to be bought and the service to the disabled in the community to be started in 1967.

From this modest beginning, the need for such a service burgeoned over the years and it now runs five Sammy mini-buses and two Samson fully adapted cars which are all manned by volunteers.

Then about 70 volunteers ran their own cars to provide a personalised service for those in need.

In the beginning the service was not weighed down by bureaucracy and was comparitively easy to fund and run. However times changed and the management of the service had to change dramatically to meet new requirements.

Sammy is now a fully-registered charity with limited company status and thus has a board of directors, all volunteers, together with a very small paid administrative staff.

In an average year, the service is used by about 50 organisations and innumerable individuals amounting to about 14,000 passengers. This value to the community has been assessed at about 300,000 '“ an astonishing sum.

To keep the wheels turning the costs are in excess of 150,000 all of which has to be raised from grants, donations and voluntary contributions reinforced so far by two grants from the lottery community fund.

Fund raising is always a daunting task as it is never ending and is in competition with other worthy causes.

At the end of his talk, Peter fielded a raft of questions which revealed the level of interest his talk had generated.

He was able to promise that despite all obstacles and with the continuing goodwill of all its supporters, Sammy was strong enough to serve the community into the foreseeable future.

The club applauded this strong statement of intent and was pleased to make a donation to such a worthy cause. Further information and contact with Sammy can be obtained on 01243 827821.

The Bognor Regis Men's Probus Club meets in the Royal Norfolk Hotel every third Wednesday in the month except in August.