At an age when many people are easing back, former Dunedin office worker Lloyd McIntyre is racking up the kilometres for the Cancer Society.
During the past 15 years, Mr McIntyre has covered 20,400km as a volunteer driver and has transported 299 cancer patients to and from Dunedin Hospital.
The 84-year-old is one of the Cancer Society's 40 Dunedin-based driving volunteers, who travelled similar distances while picking up clients and bringing them to the hospital for chemotherapy or radiation treatment.
Most of the drivers were retired people "because we're available during the week when other people have work commitments'', Mr McIntyre said.
The clients, a mix of Dunedin residents and out-of-town people temporarily in the city for medical reasons, might not have a support network or their own transport.
Or they might just not feel safe or comfortable driving after treatment.
Like the society's other drivers, Mr McIntyre uses his own vehicle, although mileage could be claimed.
Chris Green, the Cancer Society's Otago and Southland division marketing and communications manager said the volunteer drivers were integral to the organisation's work.
This year the society needed to raise $2.5 million just to provide what was needed for Otago and Southland people affected by cancer.
"So Daffodil Day fundraising activities this Friday and Saturday, are very important,'' Mr Green said.
Daffodil Day was also about raising people's awareness of cancer and the impact it had on families, schools and communities.
Many of the society's volunteers, in various roles, had a personal reason for being involved. Often they were people who had survived cancer or had lost family members or friends to the disease.
And there were now many young people volunteering and fundraising for the society, Mr Green said.
When Mr McIntyre decided to volunteer as a driver in 2002, he was already involved with Meals on Wheels. And for about 10 years he drove for both the Cancer Society and the Blind Foundation before deciding to focus on the Cancer Society.
He generally had one patient per trip, "unless by chance something else happens''.
That might involve bringing two patients from a rest-home if their hospital appointments were one after the other.
The most rewarding thing for him about being a volunteer driver was "the people you meet''.
"It makes me realise how lucky I am,'' Mr McIntyre said.
- By Kay Sinclair
