Pulham’s saves the day for charity after Heyfordian closure
Pulham’s Coaches has stepped in to provide travel for a community group after their trip was cancelled due to the closure of Heyfordian Travel.
The Didcot-based Be Free Young Carers charity faced a financial loss and the cancellation of trips after Heyfordian Travel’s sudden announcement that it would cease operations.
After the organisation’s plight was made known by the local media, Pulham’s Coaches (now part of Go-Ahead-owned Oxford Bus Company) provided the charity with replacement coaches.
“We were really surprised and saddened to hear the news involving Heyfordian” – Luke Marion, Managing Director of Thames Travel, Oxford Bus Company and Pulhams Coaches
Luke Marion, Managing Director of Thames Travel, Oxford Bus Company and Pulhams Coaches, said “We were really surprised and saddened to hear the news involving Heyfordian. We immediately got to work to try to speak to as many affected staff and customers as we could, to see if we could assist with offers of employment or to pick up any journeys that risked being cancelled at short notice.
“However, it’s not always easy to find out who is affected quickly, and so it was very helpful to hear from our contacts at The Didcot Powerhouse Fund, who we support through our Thames Travel business, about the situation involving Be Free Young Carers.
“I’m delighted that the team at our Pulhams Coaches business was quickly able to cover the booked trips, so that the young carers supported by this excellent charity could still enjoy their summer outings, which we know are so important to them. We also honoured the prices previously agreed with Heyfordian, to minimise the financial burden for the charity as far as we could.”
“We would like to send a huge thank you to Luke and the team for all their help and support during this potential crisis moment” – Be free Young Carers CEO, Sabiene North
Be free Young Carers CEO, Sabiene North, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Thames Travel and Pulham’s who are providing replacement coaches for our booked trips.
“Recent studies show that more than a quarter of young carers spend over ten hours every day caring for loved ones in the school holidays, and our team are thrilled that we can now provide an exciting and essential lifeline of support for them through these breaks.
“We would like to send a huge thank you to Luke and the team for all their help and support during this potential crisis moment.”
The news follows a similar occurrence following the closure of Heyfordian Travel, which saw Barton Community Association lose out on £2,000 of its funds due to the cancellation of its planned trip to Brighton this month. The Oxford Mail have set up a GoFundMe page to help replace its lost funds, which the newspaper reports surpassed the £2,000 goal in less than five days.