Corporate News

The Rotary Club of Burleigh Heads’ Scooter Mobility Program has been bolstered by a generous donation which will see the program’s 28-strong fleet of mobility scooters continue service to some of the Gold Coast’s most in need.

The Mobility Scooter Program provides life changing accessibility to vulnerable members of the community who would otherwise be housebound.

The costs of keeping the program running have increased substantially this year with insurance fees tripling along with the ongoing expenses of servicing the scooters making the program almost impossible to maintain.

The Scooter Mobility Program’s project officer David Ungar says the program provides an invaluable service to people in the community who are in need of a mobility scooter but do not qualify for government funding, the NDIS, or do not have the means to purchase their own.

“The Scooter Mobility Program can change a person’s life when they are able to be mobile again and have the ability to live an independent, enriched life,” says Mr Ungar.

“Sadly, the costs associated with running the program have increased dramatically in the past three years and the increased expenses have unfortunately been passed to those hiring the scooters.”

Mr Ungar said when the program commenced in 2012, the scooters were hired out for a fee of $1 per year, however, when servicing costs increased, the charge was raised to $100 per year.

This year the insurance fee to cover the scooters tripled leaving the club no option but to increase the hire charge, this time to $240 per year.

“Even with the increased hire fee we do not cover the running costs of the program and unfortunately there have been complaints from the hirers that they just cannot afford the price rise which is understandable coupled with the increased cost of living,” says Mr Ungar.

“Villawood Properties reached out to offer support to help ease the financial burden of the program so we can continue to operate this service at a reduced hire rate and provide this much-needed service to our community.”

Many elderly members of the community facing mobility challenges are unable to access financial support via the NDIS due to an age cap on the service limiting funding to those under 65 years of age. There is some funding available to people who meet specific eligibility criteria via Medicare, however, a percentage of the scooter cost is still to be paid by the recipient.

Villawood Properties is donating $2,500 towards the program through its Burleigh Heads community, The Arbour. The donation was made possible by Villawood Properties’ Community Grant Program which is just one of the company’s many philanthropy programs. The Villawood Foundation, which launched earlier this year administers more than $3.4 million each year through a multitude of community grants and sponsorships to community and not-for-profit groups, sporting clubs, and schools throughout Australia.

Villawood Properties Queensland General Manager, Michael Williams says Villawood is proud to contribute to the invaluable ongoing work of charity groups such as The Rotary Club of Burleigh Heads.

“We are proud to be of service to The Rotary Club of Burleigh Heads and our sponsorship to the Scooter Mobility Program is a very small token of our appreciation for the hard work and dedication the members of this wonderful program offer to community members in need,” says Mr Williams.

“It is exceptionally important to us at Villawood that we continue to contribute to the communities that surround our master planned communities and we look forward to the Scooter Mobility Program continuing their much-needed service for many years to come.”