They drove 1M kms last year to help cancer patients. More drivers are needed

A nonprofit whose volunteers escort cancer patients to their medical appointments racked up one million kilometres last year.

Now, the Volunteer Cancer Drivers Society is calling for more helpers as the need for the free service continues to grow.

On Jan. 9, the group issued an urgent call for drivers after it provided a record 38,386 trips last year; for 2025, the society is expecting 42,000 patient trips as the Canadian population ages.

“With the growing need, we are constantly seeking more volunteers to help drive these patients who often have no other way to get to their appointments,” president Bob Smith said in a news release.

Drivers are compensated for the distances driven for the society, at 58 cents per kilometre. Typically, they are on the road Monday to Friday to get patients to clinics, using their own vehicles.

Currently, the nine-year-old organization has 459 volunteers that include drivers, dispatchers and the society board members.

To apply for a volunteer position, you can visit the society’s website.

Meanwhile, the society hopes to raise $700,000 this year through donations and grants; its year-end fundraising campaign was delayed in November and December because of the postal strike.

Still, Ottawa has bumped the deadline for 2024 tax-deductible contributions to Feb. 28, 2025, to give charities financial relief.

Among the Tri-City organizations that have given to the society include the Port Moody Firefighters Charitable Society, the cities of Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, the Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam foundations, the Coquitlam legion and the PoCo-based burb.

To give to the Volunteer Cancer Drivers Society, you can go to its website.

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