July 2026 AGM
To read the minutes of the 51st AGM please click here
October 2025
Four Marks Care – Certificate of Recognition
Earlier this year Four Marks Parish Council awarded certificates of recognition to the Four Marks Care team for their tireless work supporting the residents of Four Marks
It seems fitting that these awards should be presented to Four Marks Care in their 50th Anniversary – 50 years supporting and helping the Four Marks community
Below are members of the committee proudly holding the certificates received on behalf of all the volunteer drivers and the support team of Four Marks Care
The wording on the certificates includes the phrase “Four Marks is a better place because of you”
We in Four Marks Care believe this to be true and encourage you to join our volunteer team and enjoy the experience of helping your community
For those who may only now becoming aware of Four Marks Care we are a voluntary organisation taking Four Marks residents, who do not have access to their own transport, to medical appointments such as local GP surgeries, dentists and hospitals
If you would like to join our volunteer team or know somebody who could benefit from our services, then please check out our website or call the Four Marks Care help line 07393 538152
Registered charity no 1076426
On Saturday 7th June Four Marks Care held the centre piece of their 50th anniversary year celebrations at the village hall
Across the day about 100 Four Marks Care clients attended coffee / tea & cakes parties with entertainment provided by Alton Uke3A & friends ukulele band
The entertainment included sing-a-longs which were enjoyed by clients and the Four Marks Care team alike.!
As well as our thanks going to the band for their contribution we would also like to thank the Four Marks Lunch Club without whose help and support the event would not have happened
A huge thank you to Barbara, Ian, Jane, Karen & Sally
As is traditional at these events, raffles took place during the day with many prizes generously contributed by our volunteer driver team, the lunch club and local businesses including:
Arrows Off-licence; Bonny Blue Florist; Cato Computers; Clementines; China Garden; Field & Country Grooming; Garthowen Garden Centre; Hattingley Valley; Naked Grape; Nosh; NW Read; Rivers; The Saffron Tandoori Restaurant; Two Acres Nursery; Willow & Sage florist
And finally, thank you to all the Four Marks Care clients who attended.
From the feedback on the day and since, you clearly enjoyed the occasion
Four Marks Care is a voluntary organisation taking Four Marks residents, who do not have access to their own transport, to medical appointments such as local GP surgeries, dentists and hospitals
If you would like to join our volunteer team or know somebody who would benefit from our services, then please check out our website or call the Four Marks Care help line 07393 538152
Winter 2024
Four Marks Care-50th Anniversary year
1975 to 2025
Letter from the Chairman
Dear fellow villager
They say “Time flies when you are enjoying yourself”.
As I come to the end of my Chairmanship, I have to say, that I have had a very enjoyable and rewarding time at Four Marks Care, it surpassed all my expectations. A big thanks to my hard-working committee and team of volunteers who have supported me over the years.
I have been involved with Four Marks Care for over 15 years, as a driver, coordinator and committee member and now as Chairman for the last few years, we have made some huge changes to the way we operate in that time. We have gone from a central number on a landline to a mobile phone number, from a four-entry system of bookkeeping to track our bookings to a laptop that nearly does it all for you, thanks to Richard Care and Mike Hughes and we now use WhatsApp to contact our amazing volunteer drivers, it’s all very 21st century.
How did Four Marks Care start?
50 years ago in 1975, some kind, like-minded villagers decided to get together to try and help their fellow villagers get to their medical appointments at the local doctors and nearby hospitals
Things were a lot different in 1975, things cost less, bread was 8.5p a large loaf and petrol was 80p a gallon, the local public transport was not as good as today.
People were finding it difficult to get to Winchester and Basingstoke hospitals.
So our fellow villagers, as always rose to the challenge and Four Marks Care was born beginning with 2 or 3 drivers.
Moving to the present day, as our client base continues to rise to over 150 we need more volunteer drivers to cope with the increase.
Last year we did over 600 trips. So we must find new volunteer drivers to help out or we will overburden our existing drivers with too many requests to drive.
Why not make a New Year resolution and volunteer to help your fellow villagers?
If you would like to help out and have a bit of spare time and a car, then call 07393538152, you can decide as and when you can help, no pressure, any amount of spare time is very welcome.
All your expenses will be reimbursed to you so you are not out of pocket, you are just giving some of your spare time to help your village.
Thank you and we hope to hear from you soon.
To celebrate our 50 years of helping our villagers with their medical appointments, we have erected a bench in the memorial garden at Lymington Bottom Green for all to enjoy – “in the good weather”
L-R: Phil Spencer (Chair) Charles Kydd (Cashier)
Our volunteers now sport very attractive green gilets with a 50th-anniversary badge embroidered on them, so give them a wave if you see them out and about.
We are having a party at the village hall, catered for by the “Lunch club ladies “a big thanks to them, for all our clients on Saturday the 7th of June to celebrate our 50th anniversary.
Discount vouchers have been handed out to all our registered clients to use when booking a drive during 2025, along with invitations to join us on the 7th of June.
As always if you know someone who would benefit from our help please make the call to 07393538152 and we will do the rest.
We look forward to your support to make sure we are here helping the community at our 60th Anniversary and beyond.
Four Marks Care only exists because of kind-hearted volunteers who want to help others, please come and join us.
Phil Spencer
FMC
Chairman
Autumn 2024
Our photograph this month is of just some of the folk who make up the Four Marks Care group
We are a team of volunteer drivers who support our Four Marks community offering transport to and from medical appointments for those amongst us without alternative means
Most of our journeys are either from client’s homes to our local GP practices or to hospitals at Basingstoke, Winchester and Alton but we can travel further afield when needed
As Four Marks grows so does the demand on our services and as a consequence we are in search of new drivers to join our volunteer team
Have you recently retired and are looking for a way of supporting your community? Or maybe you simply have some time you can spare then please do consider becoming one of our team of drivers
You will find volunteer driving very rewarding offering opportunities to meet local folk who you may not usually come across many of whom have fascinating tales to tell!
All you need to become a volunteer driver is a current driving licence, a car and the desire to help.
Drives are allocated on an as and when available basis so there is no reason why being part of the Four Marks Care team should interfere with any other commitments
If you are interested in joining us then please do call the telephone number below for more information. “We do need you!”
And if you know somebody who you feel would benefit from our volunteer service, then let us know also by calling the number below
We look forward to hearing from you – Four Marks Care telephone number 07393 538152
June 2024 – Four Marks Care at the Village Picnic
Four Marks Care’s presence at the recent Village Picnic with its free-to-play garden games proved to be a huge success with young and old alike.
Children were often pitting their skills against Mums and Dads to see who could make the highest score with, on balance, the children coming out best! (Well done Summer for getting the highest score of the afternoon.!!)
So popular was the stall that three of our local residents, having stopped to join in the fun, have become the latest to put themselves forward to be part of the Four Marks Care driving team. They will of course be very welcome and hopefully others who visited us on the day will follow their example
If you are interested in joining our driver team or you know somebody who could benefit from our services – transporting people to and from medical appointments – then please do call Four Marks Care on 07393 538152
June 24
Have you noticed these signs on cars in and around Four Marks?
Have you wondered “who are these Four Marks Care Volunteer Drivers and what
do they do ”?
Well we are a group of community minded folk who give up some of our time to transport those living in the village, without alternative means, to and from medical appointments
These may be short trips to our local GP surgeries at Boundaries and Mansfield Park, appointments at the Alton Community Hospital or some longer journeys to such as Basingstoke and Winchester hospitals.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the demand on our services continues to grow and as a consequence, we are continually seeking new drivers to boost our numbers
Do you have some spare time you can give up during the week? If so you may well enjoy being a Four Marks Care driver
We do not ask for a specific commitment as driving jobs are taken on an as and when available basis ensuring we fit in with your personal commitments and not the other way around
If you are interested in joining us then the Four Marks Care team and more importantly our many clients will be delighted to see you
To find out more please call us on 07393 538152
This telephone number can also be used if you know of anybody who would benefit from using our services
February 24 – The thoughts of one of our volunteer drivers
Four Marks Care is a charitable organisation here to serve the community of Four Marks.
We offer essential transport for those without alternative means for hospital, GP and other medical appointments
As the village grows so do the number of drives we undertake and as a consequence we are always keen to welcome new volunteer drivers to the fold
Following are some thoughts from David Harris, a volunteer driver who joined us last year
“As for so many of us the world for me was turned on its head by the pandemic. Seeing a busy engineering business through the crisis was tiring, but on emerging the other side the world of work looked very different than it had. The challenges of long distance travel were back again, whilst it was clear that the new norms of work from anywhere, at any time were never going to relax. Pah, it’s time to hand it over to a new generation – I retired. But retire to what? I’ve lived in Four Marks for over thirty years and I now had the time to give a little more back to the community. That said, I also wanted to preserve my new found freedom.
Volunteering for Four Marks Care has allowed me to meet both the simple goals I had set myself. It provides a driving service that helps those in our village who face transport difficulties get to and from medical appointments. I’d seen a request for volunteers on our local Facebook page. Becoming involved was straightforward. There were of course the usual vetting checks to be gone through as you would expect from any properly run organisation. Those out of the way, I had my hand held for the first few drives and pretty much felt welcome and part of the team from then on.
For me volunteering for Four Marks Care is ideal as I can pick and choose the drives I raise my hand to. They’re also an experienced bunch, so if for any reason you can’t fulfil a commitment, the coordinators will arrange to reassign the job. There are always gainsayers, but there is a great sense of community in Four Marks and it shines through when you get chatting to clients in the car. Those I’ve helped have been universally grateful for the service FMC provide and it’s heartwarming and sometimes very funny to spend an hour or so with them. For many clients, giving up driving themselves has been one of the most unwelcome changes they have had to make to their lives. You can’t replace that sense of independence that the car brought them, but you can feel their relief at a journey made door-to-door in comfort.”
If David’s musings strikes a chord with you and you feel you could spare some time to support your community and be a driver for Four Marks Care then why not give us a call on 07393 538152 and join our friendly and enthusiastic team.
And of course, if you know anyone who could benefit from becoming a Four Marks Care client, please do not hesitate to let us know
October 22
As we slip into Autumn and the nights start to close in, we are seeing an increase in clients requiring our help to get to their medical appointments at Hospital, Doctors, Dentists, and Opticians or just to visit a friend in hospital.
Our new clients are contacting us on our central number 07393 538152 or on our Web Page, www.fourmarkscare.org.uk, where you will find information about Four Marks Care and what we do.
We are currently looking for volunteer drivers with a little spare time during the week to take our fellow villagers on appointments. If you are interested in helping please call our central number 07393 538152 Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm, and one of volunteers will take your details and we will get back to you.
It has been been over two years since we last met to thank our volunteers for the hard work they have done in the past and continue to do but, at last, we were able to arrange a get together at Benian’s.
We set our intrepid volunteers a” Fun Test” by way of a treasure hunt by car around the local area. We had lots take up the challenge. We had prizes for the winners and a Fish and Chip supper with a free first drink for all.
1st prize went to David and Elizabeth, 2nd prize to Mike and Barbara and 3rd to Mollie and Tommy. Well done. It was not easy.
It was such a fun evening and, as you can imagine, there was lots of catching up with friends.
There have been some changes to our steering committee recently. I would like to thank Brian Arrowsmith, who is stepping down from the role of Treasurer and wish to welcome Vicky Efstathiou, who has agreed to join us as Treasurer. We have two new Committee Members, Tommy and Mollie Thompson who are settling in nicely, so welcome to them.
If you know of anyone who might need our help getting to a medical appointment, let us know and we will contact them to see if we can help.
Phil Spencer
Chairman
May 22
As we all tentatively take small steps on the journey out of restrictions caused by this terrible pandemic and start to return to a form of normality, Four Marks Care is also returning to its former self.
We are starting to see the results of our advertising campaign with more people from Four Marks Village calling for our help in getting to and from medical appointments. These include hospitals, doctors, opticians, and dentist appointments. If it is a medical appointment, or you are visiting someone in hospital, we can take you to the appointment/visit and bring you back home again (T&C apply). We work on a voluntary donation system which enables us to refund our volunteer drivers for their out of pocket expenses whilst taking villagers on these important appointments.
Over the last year, we have lost a few of our older drivers who, after long and dedicated service to FMC, have decided to step back and make way for new volunteers.
If you have any spare time, no matter how limited and would like to get involved in helping the village and its residents, then get in touch via our website www.fourmarkscare.org.uk or call the central number 07393-538152, leave a message and someone will return your call. All the information about how we work and testimonials from our clients and drivers are on the website along with news updates.
We are also looking to fill three vacancies on our steering committee. The steering committee meets four times a year and meetings last 1 to 2 hours. The committee decides on the route FMC will take over the coming year. If you think you can help us please get in touch.
It is vital that we fill these places as without new people with new ideas Four Marks care will cease to exist. This would be a great loss to the village and to the villagers who rely on FMC to be there in their time of need. Please consider helping FMC move forward in the coming years.
Please give it some consideration.
Phil Spencer
Chairman
February 22
Here we are in February 2022, and although things are still a little unclear with COVID19 and the number of infections, I hope we have seen the worst of this pandemic.
We have continued helping our clients to attend their medical appointments at hospitals, dentists and doctors’ surgeries. We are averaging seven to eight journeys a week and it seems that our surgeries are now holding more face to face appointments and hospitals are trying to catch up on the backlog created in the last two years.
Over the last couple of months, we have recruited three new coordinators. I am delighted to welcome Tommy and Mollie and Scott, this brings our coordinating team up to full strength.
We are still looking for people to join our committee so if you have some spare time and would like to know more about how Four Marks Care is run, you can contact us via our website or ring 07393 538152 and leave a message and someone will get back to you.
You can find us in Four Marks News, on Facebook and our website www.fourmarkscare.org.uk
If you would like to donate to Four Marks Care at no cost to yourself, you can do that via Amazon Smile. If you use Amazon, then by logging on the Amazon Smile and nominating Four Marks Care as your preferred Charity, every time you purchase something on the Amazon Smile website Amazon automatically give us a small percentage of your purchase cost at no extra cost to you, so please consider donating via Amazon smile.
Thanks for considering donating.
Phil Spencer
Chairman
January 22
Happy New Year to you all. I hope you had a good Christmas with all your family and friends.
We have completed our first year being computerised, using our new laptops, which has helped to speed up the work which our Coordinators do. A big thanks to our IT group who have kept us on track all year.
The Coordinators are the vital link between the clients and our volunteer drivers. They take the initial call for help from the client via our central number 07393 538152. They find a driver to suit the client and their personal needs. We have over 100 clients and 48 drivers available to us, so it is very rare that we are unable to help.
Over the last year we have arranged 240 trips to take clients to various medical appointments all over the south at a fraction of the cost using other forms of transport and, in almost all cases, we are waiting for the client to finish their appointment and take them home to the door.
You can find us on Four Marks News Facebook and on our website www.fourmarkscare.org.uk . If you have some spare time and would like to help us, we would love to hear from you.
If you would like to donate to Four Marks Care at no cost to you, you can do that via Amazon Smile. If you use Amazon, by logging on to Amazon Smile and nominating Four Marks Care as your preferred charity, every time you purchase something Amazon automatically gives us a small percentage of the cost of your purchase at no additional cost to you. Please consider donating via Amazon Smile. Thank you.
Phil Spencer
Chairman