LATEST NEWS
DACT’s 30th Anniversary Party - 27th Sept 2024
On Friday 27th September we Celebrated DACT’S 30th Anniversary year of Serving Daventry & District with Transport & Mobility Needs, with Past & Present Staff & Volunteers at the ARC cinema.
Phil Houston, DACT’S CEO, would like to say a special thank you to The H M Lord-Lieutenant of Northamptonshire James Saunders Watson, who is the Honorary President of DACT, and who opened our event.
Daventry Town Mayor Cllr Karen Tweedale for Judging our Colouring Competition & announcing the Guess the name of the Teddy winner.
The Rt Hon Stuart Andrew Conservative MP for Daventry giving us a speech about volunteering.
To Malcolm (Workshop volunteer), David (Car driver volunteer) & Jess (Minibus Driver volunteer) who all gave a short talk about Volunteering with DACT
Rob Kinning the founder of DACT and past CEO who also gave a short speech about the starting of DACT 30 years ago. ARC cinema for the use of the function room
DID YOU KNOW
Our Car Scheme has been taking the people of Daventry district, who are over 65 or with a mobility issues, to medical appointments for 30yrs
Our affiliated groups have been hiring our minibus for 29yrs
Our DACT Days out have been doing trips for 11 years
Our DACT Shop celebrated being open for 23yrs and our shop extension for 4yrs.
Our Weekly Free DTC Daventry Town Community Bus (formerly Dial-a-Ride) has been running for 17yrs.
Our Mobility Repairs Workshop has been Repairing & Servicing Mobility Equipment for 9 yrs
Here are a few photos from our 30th celebration. ‘Photos taken by David Kennedy/Place Images’.
In Celebration of DACT’S 30th Anniversary
On Friday 27th September a Prunus white Flowering Cherry Tree was planted in New Street Park, close to the Reflection Garden. By Rob Kinning the founder of DACT and past CEO with the help of Martyn, DACT’S Operations Manager, & Shana, DACT’S Mobility Shop Manager.
‘Photos taken by David Kennedy/Place Images’.
THANK YOU!
We at DACT want to say an enormous thank you to Wendy and the team at Arc Cinema Daventry for choosing us to be their sponsored charity in 2022-2023. In that time, they have raised an incredible £1,183.98 for DACT! Every penny of those funds will go to helping the elderly and vulnerable in our district.
Tribute to our former Honorary President David Laing
DACT would like to pay tribute to former Lord-Lieutenant David Laing who has sadly passed away.
David was the Honorary President of DACT for 5 years until 2020, and he was also the Lord Lieutenant of Northants when he presented DACT with their Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
Our thoughts are with his family.
2022-2023 Report
It has been great this past year to get back to some sort of normality, since taking up the reins of DACT, we have been in or emerging from the Covid Pandemic. This past year we have seen a steady growth towards our normal levels of demand as more and more people gain the confidence to be out and about. This is particularly heart-warming for those in our community that just would not get out without the support of a DACT service, whether that is mobility equipment from the Mobility Shop, the car scheme to get people to medical appointments or our minibus services offering days out, community group travel or weekly shopping trips. These services at first sight might seem quite ordinary, but with the wonderful volunteers who deliver the services, the difference it makes for the person involved is immense. For many passengers who are isolated and find it difficult going out their own door without help, small things like a friendly smile and an arm to lean on really matter. We get countless letters and even more comments on the phone that people would not know what to do without their DACT Volunteer, and service provided by the DACT office team. The office team themselves end up fulfilling a function far greater than just taking down booking details. People who phone up often need to talk to someone about their challenges, which requires a sympathetic ear, common sense advice and a reassuring nature and in some cases a referral to another support service. DACT passengers become well known to the staff, so much so that when the passenger phones up they feel like they are talking to a friend not just a phone operator. The need for organisations that reach out into the community is often greatly under-estimated.
Volunteer Christmas Drop-In Day - 2022
“It was great to see around 70 people at the drop in day on Thursday 15th December 2022 celebrating the wonderful work they all do in support of many vulnerable people in our community. It is always a great event in the DACT calendar, which gives volunteers who have never met the chance to catch up and also to get a sense of what they are part.
There was a great buzz about the place, with plenty of food, laughter and raffle ticket winners! We must say a HUGE thank you to ARC Cinema Daventry for their generosity yesterday in hosting this event and providing a wonderful environment for us to celebrate in. DACT is also the charity they have chosen to support this year and we have been overwhelmed by their fundraising efforts. THANK YOU!” - Phil Houston | CEO
🥳DACT 2 Time Winners - CTA Awards🥳
On Tuesday 12th November 2019, the Community Transport Association held their annual national awards ceremony at Hotel Football in Manchester, and thanks to your votes, DACT came away with the top prize in the "Community Transport Association Photo Competition."
But not only that, our very own Dennis Clayton was awarded “Volunteer of the Year.” This National award was given to Dennis for being an incredibly dedicated volunteer since 2007. In that time he has taken on the role of driver, MiDAS Trainer, cleaner, ambassador, trustee, vice chair and chair of the board. "In short, he is a full-time and overtime volunteer." (Rob Kinning - Chief Executive)
The Ritz
Tuesday 5th November was the first of our 3 DACT Days Out trips for afternoon tea at the Ritz in London!
The feedback received has been nothing short of fantastic - and we are thinking of putting the same trip on a future brochure - so book it in fast when it comes!
Here are a few photos snapped by one of the passengers, Beverley:
DACT’s 25th Anniversary Party - 14th July 2019
On Sunday 14th July, we celebrated DACT's 25th anniversary. So many faces who have contributed to the quarter-century gathered together to recognise the difference all the volunteers have made in their community. We ate together, enjoyed some live music and reminisced all afternoon - and we loved every minute! Here are a few photos to mark the occasion. Special thank you to the Mercure Hotel in Daventry for hosting us so well, the Good Loaf for providing the wonderful food, and to John Bowman and the band for bringing such a great sound!
