Lucan Disability Action Group on the road due to community fundraising
By Brittany King
A LUCAN business held a raffle fundraiser for the Lucan Disability Action Group, a well-known transport services for people with disabilities - which relies on fundraising to provide its vital service.
The raffle raised €441.85 for the action group, which will aid in the operational costs of the group - which aims to fundraise €10,000 to €20,000 every year.
Caroline Brady, of the Lucan Disability Action Group, said: “The first challenge is we need to help cover operational costs. These costs continue to rise year on year. Insurance costs for the fleet are up 26 per cent, fuel is up 11 per cent and repairs to the aging fleet up over 40 per cent.”
So far, this year, they have raised €9,000 towards the operational costs.
Along with operational costs, the group is also fundraising to replace their older vehicles, the eldest a 2005 model.
“To buy a vehicle costs about €20,000,” said Caroline. But then we have to convert it for wheelchair access. This puts another €25,000 on top of the vehicle costs”.
In the coming year, the group hopes to replace two vehicles, but now they are aiming to raise €45,000 for one new vehicle.
The group operates throughout the greater Dublin area, including Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and all of South and West Dublin, transporting people to St James Hospital, James Connolly Hospital, Tallaght Hospital, Royal Victoria Hospital, Beaumont Hospital, O2, Croke Park, Bord Gas Theatre and wherever the participants need to go, since transportation for disabled people is not easily available.
City buses only have space for one wheelchair user or baby stroller, which is usually taken by another person, and bus stops are not easily accessible, due to distance or inaccessible pathways.
The door-to-door service the group provides is an essential tool to enable independence for people with a disability.
The community has helped a lot in keeping the group in operation, such as the two local workers from Kinirons Allcare in Lucan village, Maeve Dooley and Deirdre Mullins, who held the recent raffle.
Caroline said: “Maeve and Deirdre came up with the idea to hold a raffle to support us, and they organised everything. We really just can’t say thank you enough to everyone in the community who help us. We simply couldn’t keep the service running without their help.”
The group is working on creating an online site for donations, but if you want to donate, you can send a cheque to Unit 24, Hills Industrial Estate, Lucan Co. Dublin.
