Shopmobility Renfrewshire marked National Shopmobility Awareness Week by hosting a celebration event for volunteers, staff and supporters at the Disability Resource Centre in Paisley.
The event took place on Friday 5th June during both Shopmobility Awareness Week and Volunteers’ Week, which ran from 1st to 7th June. Around 45 people attended the gathering, which highlighted the work carried out by Shopmobility Renfrewshire and recognised the contribution made by volunteers.
National Shopmobility Awareness Week aims to raise awareness of Shopmobility services across the UK and encourage people with mobility challenges to make use of them. The services provide affordable access to mobility equipment, helping people travel independently and access town centres, shops and community facilities.
Councillor Kenny MacLaren, chairperson of Shopmobility Renfrewshire, said: “This is a great event, giving Shopmobility centres like us the chance to highlight the difference we can make to people’s lives.”
He added: “National Shopmobility Awareness Week coincided with Volunteers Week, so it was especially appropriate that the theme of this year was ‘More than Mobility – Powered by People’. This allowed us to show our appreciation to our staff and especially our volunteers who are so important in helping us deliver our services to people with mobility problems in Renfrewshire.
“We were delighted to hold our event at the Disability Resource Centre in Paisley, it is an amazing venue ran by dedicated staff who provide essential support to around 40 Renfrewshire-wide groups. It is unbelievable to consider that this venue and the services it supports are under threat of closure by Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, although they may understand the cost of this centre its clear they don’t realise the value it provides to many families and communities across Renfrewshire.”
Karen Miller, office manager and fundraising officer for Shopmobility Renfrewshire, said: “This was a great event, giving us the chance to not only highlight what we’ve done in the past year but also thanking our volunteers and supporters who are essential in helping us deliver our services.
“We were pleased that around 45 people made it along to our celebration, it was a great turnout and we were delighted to hold our event again in the Disability Resource Centre.”
Shopmobility Renfrewshire is based on the ground floor of the Paisley Centre car park in Storie Street and provides mobility scooter and wheelchair hire to help people access Paisley and the wider community.
Photo: Staff and volunteers from Shopmobility Renfrewshire at the organisation’s National Shopmobility Awareness Week celebration event in Paisley. Photo: Shopmobility Renfrewshire