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Hospice goes electric with help from local business

July 2022

Retail

A local charity has unveiled new electric vans that will soon take to the roads of Swindon and north east Wiltshire, collecting and delivering donated goods to help raise funds.

The zero emission vehicles have been donated to Prospect Hospice by Arval UK and will replace the current diesel vehicles across the local area to deliver pre-loved goods to the charity’s 15 shops. Money raised goes towards ensuring local people can all benefit from free care and support at the end of their lives.

This is yet another sign of support for the charity from the sustainable car and van leasing company who have been long-time supporters of the hospice, helping during the pandemic by lending cars to community nurses so they could reach more patients in their own homes when lockdown was enforced.

Victoria Canavan, head of retail at Prospect Hospice said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Arval UK for this generous donation of two electric vans for us to get round all our shops. At a time when the hospice has announced the need for more support, this is really going to help us be more efficient and keep our costs down. Our van drivers will no longer have to schedule in fuel stops as we’ll be able to charge up overnight at our distribution centre and be ready to go the next day. As well as meaning we are as green as we can be, the money we save on fuel can be redirected to where it’s needed most; patient care.”

Zoe Maitland, head of corporate social responsibility from Arval UK said: “The work which Prospect Hospice carries out is essential to our local community and we are proud to support it.

“Particularly at a time when fuel costs are increasing, we believe that developing confidence in making the switch to electric vehicles becomes possible by using them in the real world. Through this donation, we hope that the electric vans will help the charity to save money and give local people insight into how zero emission vehicles perform on the road. We are also delighted to be supporting their wider business drive to become more sustainable.”

Victoria Canavan added: “Our current vans are due to be retired soon and need to be replaced by the hospice which would have cost the charity around £60,000. This donation of these two new electric vans from Arval UK really is a huge help as it will enable the charity to save that money and reinvest it elsewhere.”

Prospect Hospice is a local charity that supports local people, and their loved ones, at the end of their lives. They rely on donations from the local community, including donations of pre-loved goods to sell in their shops, to ensure care and support is offered to everyone who needs it completely free of charge.

To find out more about the work of Prospect Hospice and donate to the charity, click here and for more information about Arval UK click here.

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