DonorTec Impact | UnitingCare Casino Transport Team

How does our organisation serve the community?

The UnitingCare Casino Transport Team (UCCTT) serves our community by providing a means of transport for a variety of needed care services such as medical related appointments; keeping the family unit intact by taking the spouse or family remaining at home to visit the person in the health or Aged Care institution; working with other groups to provide an opportunity for shopping, when the client attending the medical appointment lives in a rural region and providing a caring and listening Volunteer to give this assistance.

Public transport in our region is spasmodic and unfriendly for sick, aged and frail people. A vast majority of residents no longer drive; the family has moved away for work reasons, thus leaving frail aged people socially isolated.

What products have we received via DonorTec?

UCCTT has received the Microsoft Office 2007 package in 2008; and previously received the Windows XP; and Microsoft Office package in 2004.

How has the implementation of DonorTec software built the capacity of your organisation?

Implementation of MS Office and Windows XP provided the service with modern software which enabled record keeping and auditing practice to keep pace with the modern demand, and remain compatible with other user groups. This allowed us to create our own photo ID badge for each Volunteer using Picture Manager and Publisher. MS Word is used for all correspondence; is easily created and stored and shared with other organisations at a consistently high standard.

Statistical information is readily available using MS Access database designed to summarise statistics, budgets and diaries of events. All information is easily collated and recorded for submission writing and statistical purposes and instantly compatible with other users of the information as information is transmitted using Office Outlook and MS Excel for statistical reporting.

We are able to attend to all the business of running and operating the UCCTT using Microsoft programs.
The service has grown immensely over the 9 years of operation; and the MS Office programs have allowed upgrades of the work flow and requirements with continuity of software; without any lost or the need for further programs.

UCCTT was the winner of the 2008 Business Awards Community Services Event in this area. Again, MS Office was used to produce brochures outlining the service ethos and mission; and allowed us to put a photo onto our brochure to raise the profile and enhance publicity about the service within the community.

From the not-for-profit aspect;  the programs  given to  us by DonorTec, allow UCCTT the opportunity to create sound auditing and record keeping practices; essential for tracking the success and need for the service within the community. Negotiating with philanthropic agencies and sponsors has become fluent because of the DonorTec & Partners approach to assistance for groups such as ours. Ours is strictly a Volunteer organisation and we are reliant on donations and small grants from philanthropic individuals and the local community.

Thanks to DonorTec & Partners we have implemented a modern office system within our service; enabling us to attract the assistance of  semi-retired Administration personnel who now contribute their expertise to our record keeping and responses to requests from the community. Responses which relied on three diaries and various bits of paper are now electronically tracked effectively thanks to the software.

The contributions of groups such as Donor Tec & Partners are vitally important to the continued capacity of our group to provide this much needed and ever expanding service to our remote community. Private transport is the only method of access for many of our community members to the best of medical practice; and in some instances the only communication and interaction with society; contributing to their overall health and well being.

The coordinator and committee believe the success of this socially beneficial endeavour is in part due to DonorTec’s previous contribution; and are hopeful we can again be judged worthy of
a further contribution to our expanding capacity building requirements to take us into another 10 years of operation.

Yours faithfully,

Shirley Smith          
Coordinator UCCTT