A tea to promote the West Coast’s Wheels for Wellness program was held on March 11 to drum up interest and awareness of the valuable local service that provides needed transportation to out-of-town medical appointments.
The program arrived on the West Coast in 2016 and, since then, volunteer drivers have used the Wheels for Wellness van to transport locals to and from any medical appointment a minimum of 60 kilometres away and returning them home.
Sunday’s tea was held at Tofino’s Best Western Tin Wis Resort and organized by students from the West Coast chapter of Leadership Vancouver Island as part of an awareness-raising community project.
“We are providing an information session about Wheels for Wellness to promote the service and explain what it has to offer,” said LVI student Jesse Betman.
Fellow LVI student Michelle Hall said the Wheels for Wellness program is very important because many West Coasters struggle to find transportation out of town.
“Many medical appointments happen out of this area so the program is really important,” she said. “As we know, here on the West Coast we really struggle with transportation…We have eight communities in this region, all who need medical transportation at some level so it’s a really important service.”
She added more volunteer drivers are being sought, as is a volunteer coordinator to help oversee the service’s efforts. Anyone interested in the program is encouraged to check out their website.