12. Helping to keep vehicles running to take patients for cancer treatment - May 2020


The week we sent £250 to Firefly - a Doncaster based cancer awareness and support charity which offers free transport to cancer patients and their families to get to regional treatment hospitals.


From the personal experience of its founder, Denise Dunn, Firefly recognised that one of the difficulties faced by cancer patients who are undergoing long-term treatments was the issue of getting to and from hospitals - driving or having to ask to be driven and then finding somewhere to park in time for an appointment. Additional stresses at an already incredibly stressful time.

Since starting out in 2006, Firefly has built up a fleet of 8 vehicles, which are manned purely by volunteers. Their services help the patient and almost as importantly the patient’s family, friends and carers who don't have to worry about, often very, regular trips to and from the hospital for treatment.

With the current social distancing requirements, they have had to reduce passenger loads from 7 to just 2 passengers per journey. Inevitably this has meant the cost of running these vehicles has become a real issue as well as having to incur additional unexpected expenses to supply appropriate PPE for their staff.

At a time when cancer patients are facing more worry than ever about their diagnosis and treatment we are very pleased to be able to send £250 to Firefly to help them with their work.


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