We have a special couple who actually met here whilst volunteering at the Hospice. Barbara and Frank work organising the transport each week for our patients who come to and from Day Unit. They also support our Bucketeers project which helps patients to tick things off their Bucket Lists. They do this in their own time without pay and have escorted poorly patients on trips to the zoo, to see relatives, on canal trips and afternoon teas.

Barbara says: “I have been a volunteer for 14 years, first in Brian House for a few years, I joined the fundraising team and later I worked as a receptionist in the Linden Centre. I joined because I was alone after my husband passed away. I had a friend who arranged flowers for Trinity so I asked if I could come with her. The Volunteer Co-ordinator called in and asked if I would like to become a volunteer too. I said I would and my life changed completely.

Together, Frank and I now arrange patient transport, doctors appointments and clinics for the Day Therapy Unit patients. There is a team of 26 volunteer drivers who travel all over the Fylde Coast collecting patients and taking them home. Frank began volunteering when his wife passed away. He had been a taxi driver so was very famliar with the area which is an advantage when arranging transport of course!

“Frank and I also take patients to places requested on their Bucket List. This is especially rewarding for us. Trinity is a wonderful, place, a little piece of Heaven, where the nurses are often referred to as Angels and they truly are. It’s a privilege to help, albeit in a small way by comparison. Frank and I both feel the same: volunteering is a two-way thing. We help Trinity and this in turn gives us such pleasure and a reason in life.”