Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes have been short-listed to become one of the latest recipients of funding from Scotmid Co-operative’s Community Connect initiative – potentially being awarded up to £15,000 to expand the valuable service they provide.
Scotmid members collect votes every time they shop in store and swipe their Community Connect card. Scotmid Members will decide who will receive the top award of £15,000 or the two runners-up prizes of £5,000 in April 2020. Since Scotmid’s funding initiative was launched in 2017 almost £500,000 has been given to help community groups across Scotland. The other short-listed Good Cause Groups are Kilbryde Hospice and Glasgow’s Scottish Women Warriors Basketball Club.
Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes provide a professional, free and urgent courier service to hospitals and trusts in the south-west of Scotland and beyond.
A small team of local volunteers provide the service, which operates for 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, ensuring patients receive urgent supplies – saving hospitals and health boards’ vast sums of money.
The Community Connect funding will go towards purchasing a new motorbike, which will enable the group to expand the service they currently provide.
Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes Chairman Dave Hook said: “We are over the moon to have been shortlisted for a Community Connect award. Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes provide a free service for the patients of the NHS, transporting Urgent Blood, Medication, Samples, Medical Notes and Medical Equipment to specialised Labs UK wide.
“The service is provided 24/7 365 days a year entirely by volunteers who donate their time for free. There are no paid members within the group. We travel over 15000 miles per month mainly using Motorcycles with cars for backup in adverse weather.
“The funding would be used to replace one of our older motorcycles with a new machine ensuring we have the most reliable machines on the road at all times. Thank you to Scotmid for their support.”