Kaddy Transport has reached a milestone – assisting northern beaches locals in need for 40 years.
Dee Why RSL has enjoyed an enduring partnership with Kaddy, supporting their valued service for more than 10 years with funds well in excess of $100,000.
KADDY stands for Keen, Able and Disabled of Dee Why, and was first started in 1980 by Val Rayward, a matron at Royal North Shore Hospital. Val contracted polio and became confined to a wheelchair, and found that there were no community transport facilities available at the time. Val saw a real need for a means of transport for people with disabilities to meet medical appointments, so she started fundraising activities with the support of the Uniting Church at Dee Why, in order to purchase a bus.
“Sadly, Val passed away shortly before the delivery of the bus, never seeing her dream come true,” recalled Allan Hale OAM, longtime board member of Kaddy. “When we required a new vehicle in 1983, we arranged registration plates VAL-068 in memory of Val.”
Allan has been selflessly dedicated to Kaddy since 1983, when he first started volunteering as a driver for the service, on top of running his own business.