Skye Old Peoples Welfare Committee 
providing vital transport for older people in Skye & Raasay

In 1954 Skye Old Peoples Welfare Committee was established by Skye Council of Social Services (now Skye & Lochalsh Council for Voluntary Organisations) to improve services for the elderly of the area. The first committee was led by the redoubtable ‘Mrs Jock of Viewfield House’ (Mrs Evelyn MacDonald), and involved many local worthies. The need for a residential care home was addressed by their involvement in the establishment of Budhmor Eventide Home (as it was called then). They also identified the need for “Home helps” to support older people to continue living at home- offering a service to do their shopping, and light domestic chores including setting and lighting the coal fire. These things later became a big part of the local authority’s Social Work responsibility (although, sadly, the duties performed under Social Services have been greatly reduced over more recent years.) A General Fund also enabled the purchase of Christmas presents which were distributed throughout the area. 

One of the original aims of Skye Old People’s Welfare - still the main focus of the group - is providing vital transport for the elderly. They started off with a Welfare Car driven by ‘Mrs Jock’ (I’m sure some of you will remember her driving skills!) around the Portree area. Thursdays were shopping days, Mondays were the Monday Club, Tuesdays were the Chiropody clinics, Fridays the car went to Penifiler and Sundays it was used for Church.

The first Welfare van was bought in 1956 – a time when petrol was being rationed! In the 1960s the Redcliffe Coal Fund bequeathed by General MacDonald’s mother for distributing “ a supply of coal to old natives of Portree”  became a new part of Skye Old People’s Welfare service and was extended to the whole island with the help of extra funds. This coal delivery continued until the early 1970s.

When the Welfare car was being used somewhere else, volunteer drivers often used their own vehicles but in 1976 The Isle of Skye Round Table raised all the necessary funding to purchase a brand new minibus. Over the years the fundraising from the Round Table subsequently provided four Welfare mini-buses.

The Skye Old People’s Welfare minibus service covers outlying areas of Skye & Raasay on a rota basis. Once a month it brings pensioners direct from their own home into Portree offering them the chance to meet with others, go shopping, visit the bank or post office etc. (We used to go as far as Sleat but when the Coop was opened in Broadford they no longer needed to come to Portree). Each area has a local volunteer Organiser who recruits volunteer drivers and promotes the service to pensioners.

We currently have around 50 volunteers - without whom there would be no service. They give generously of their time and energy – often helping to carry numerous shopping bags as well as drive the bus!

In 2004, the 5th Skye Old Peoples Welfare minibus was purchased with a £9,000 donation from the Round Table, a great deal of local fundraising and grants from several other sources. When we got the new bus we were so proud of it - it was bigger than the previous one, with a lift for wheelchairs. However our enthusiasm was soon deflated when the first comments we got from the cailleachs was “we’ve lost the space for our shopping bags!”

Every Wednesday we provide transport for the Portree Lunch Club by bringing in pensioners from the Uig area and Braes/Penifiler on alternate weeks. The minibus service also currently serves the communities of Staffin, Waternish, Raasay, Kilmuir, Struan, Dunvegan and Glendale, on a monthly rota basis. On Sundays Snizort used our bus to takes the over 60s to Church but that stopped last year due to lack of numbers.

If you know of someone over 60 years young who lives in any of these areas who would benefit from our mini-bus service - please contact Chrisanne MacDonald on 01478 612921.

Outwith our rota service the minibus is used by Tigh na Drochaid (Social Services) and is available for use by other groups working with older or disabled people. 

Other than a small grant from Social Work we rely on donations to keep the bus maintained and on the road. Some of the areas do amazing fundraising on our behalf. Dunvegan & District Senior Citizens donate £500 every year.
Skye & Lochalsh CVO receive a Rural Transport Grant from HC for managing Skye Old People’s Welfare. A condition of that grant has been that we had to introduce fares to users of the bus.  We have been campaigning for the Concessionary Fares scheme to be extended to include community transport.

The Rural Community Transport Grant was originally administered by the Scottish Government but they handed it over to the local authorities and it is no longer ring fenced.   Skye Old Peoples Welfare have already raised a substantial amount towards the next bus which we hope to purchase in 2010.

In addition to the minibus service, Skye Old Peoples Welfare produces a newsletter (Bus Buzz) for pensioners which is distributed to all the lunch clubs across Skye & Lochalsh as well as to users of the bus itself. We also represent the interests & concerns of older people on numerous forums and to public agencies.

In 2004 – our 50th anniversary year – we were honoured by the Queens Golden Jubilee Award for Voluntary Service and Age Concern who made us their Group of the Year.

In 2008 a tree was planted in Somerled Square, Portree in memory of Elizabeth Wakefield (President of SOPW during the 1980s-90s and Honorary Life President 1999-2004); Pat Gordon (SOPW Secretary during the 1980s-90s); Margaret MacKinnon of Waternish (Chair 1998-2003) and Norman MacInnes of Kilmuir (long serving Area Organiser/volunteer driver for the Kilmuir area).

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