More volunteer drivers needed in North Bay, cancer society says

The Canadian Cancer Society says it is short on volunteer drivers in the North Bay area.

Volunteer drivers are apart of the Wheels of Hope program and drive cancer patients to their appointments and home.

“If we have five to 10 people out there that like to drive and have a half a day or a few days a month, please consider volunteering with us,” said Mark Kahan, a volunteer coordinator with the cancer society.

“It really is an awesome volunteer experience, the magic really happens in the drive there’s and home. The kindness, the conversations, the compassion.”

Kahan said typically volunteer drivers are for getting patients to Health Sciences North (HSN) in Greater Sudbury and then driving them back home to North Bay.

“It can be a huge burden to a family, sometimes people in radiation have to go every day up to six weeks, Monday to Friday. So it can be a huge burden to have to take that much time off of work,” he said.

“That’s where the Wheels of Hope comes in and we have those volunteers that we urgently need.”

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Calvin Cozac has been volunteering in North Bay with Wheels of Hope for 10 years.

“It is very rewarding. To a person, they are very, very appreciative of the service. Some of them would have a very difficult time getting to treatment without it so they’re very appreciative,” said Cozac.

“We meet a lot of interesting people, nice people, so it is very rewarding.”

Those with the Canadian Cancer Society told CTV News they are actively looking for new volunteers.

A non-smoking vehicle, a clean driving record with three demerit points or less and Covid-19 vaccinations are required to be a volunteer driver.

For more information on becoming a volunteer visit the Canadian Cancer Society’s volunteer page or email: [e-mail].