Tuesday, 7 October 2014

DAST Get Upclose and Personal

Fundraiser Sarah writes:

One of the nicest things about my job is reading the letters and cards that come with the donation cheques.  On many days our postbag contains some very heartwarming messages, thanking us for our help and describing to us how our work has made a difference to the sender and their family.


DAST get a lot of these cards and letters because we offer such a personal service.  As soon as someone makes contact with us asking for help we arrange to go and visit them within a matter of days.  We take our service into their own front room, no matter where they live.  Even though we are based in Chesterfield, we have pledged to personally visit anyone in the East Midlands area that needs our help.  That often means Natalie or Paul being out for a full day visiting people as far afield as Northamptonshire.  On occasion, we have even been asked to go to Norfolk or Cambridgeshire.  And as soon as they return, they attack the paperwork in order to get claims processed as soon as possible.  They are available to advise and reassure throughout this claim process.  As someone once said on one of our questionnaires:

“The people at DAST were a lifeline...they became friends.”

The cost of delivering such a personal service is high, which is why we are so grateful for the donations that people send to us.  We have received a lot of requests for home visits in Lincolnshire in recent times.  Each visit to Scunthorpe costs us in the region of £135, while each visit to the Louth area costs us around £160. This includes transport costs, worker time and administration.

So thank you to anyone who has ever donated to DAST – it is you that keeps this service running and allowing us to throw out that lifeline to people affected by asbestos.



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