The community-led transport service is teaming up with the Guernsey Retail Group to extend its weekly grocery shopping service, which runs four buses a week, to late-night shopping.
‘Imagine being dependent on other people, a lot of people might have to ask their children to help them with shopping, but what if they want to buy them a present?’ said Tim Feak, the charity’s development manager.
‘This will help them shop independently for presents that they might want to buy.
‘It can also reduce the isolation that comes with having a disability, as it is a social thing.’
The service will run on two late night shopping Thursdays, 4 and 11 December. The bus will arrive in Market Square at 5.30pm after picking shoppers up from their homes, and leave at 8pm. The first two dates were chosen as they are typically quieter evenings – those closer to Christmas Day could be overwhelming for those with disabilities.
‘There are all sorts of disabilities and it is better for people with visual or hearing impairments, anxiety and things like that to not be in huge crowds,’ said Mr Feak.
The initiative launched yesterday, on ‘Purple Tuesday’, and one of the mini buses was parked in St Peter Port outside the Town Church for the launch.
Mr Feak said people had come forward praising the initiative and offering themselves up as volunteers.
‘Purple Tuesday is a global movement dedicated to improving the customer experience for disabled people. It highlights the power of the “Purple Pound” – an estimated £274bn spent by disabled folk and their families in the UK alone each year. Yet many retailers miss out on this vital market due to accessibility barriers,’ he said.
‘Quite a few people have said they would like to volunteer, and a lot of people have said this would be great for their nan or their husband.’
Shopping UnLtd is looking for more volunteers to act as passenger assistants or drivers to help with the initiative.
‘They really are a lovable group and it’s a really social thing to do for me too,’ said Sara Hussey, who is a passenger assistant for the charity.
People who would like to volunteer or book a place on the late-night shopping trips or weekly runs are asked to contact Sharon at Shopping UnLtd on 724333 or email hello@unltd.gg.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.