Charity, Events & Entertainment | Posted on August 27th, 2024 | return to news
Dorset people’s support needed for Air Ambulance Week
The event takes place from Monday 9 to Sunday 15 September, with local people invited to raise funds for the life-saving charity.
Air Ambulance Week takes place from Monday 9 to Sunday 15 September, and Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is hoping it can count on support from local people.
During the week, the charity has several awareness and engagement activities planned, but it is also hoping the community will organise their own events in aid of the charity, sign up for their weekly lottery (£5 per month), make a one-off donation of £10 or pledge a regular donation in support of their critical work.
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance’s team of doctors and specialist practitioners bring the hospital to critically ill or injured patients when it is needed the most. Their enhanced skills, specialist equipment and drugs that they carry, along with the speed of their response, is often the difference between life and death.
With operational costs of nearly £10 million a year and the approximate cost of one mission equating to £3,500, every pound raised during Air Ambulance Week will play a vital role in helping the air ambulance crew to continue saving lives.
Charles Hackett, CEO of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance said: “Last year, we were tasked to over 2,900 incidents; the charity’s busiest year on record. In some ways this is good news, as each year we are able to bring vital, life-saving care to more patients who need it, with more people being helped and saved. But, at the same time, it shows how many people in our area need the enhanced and critical care that we provide, care that is otherwise not available outside of hospital.
“Next year, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance will be 25 years old. Is that a time to look back and celebrate what has been achieved? Perhaps, but even more importantly to look forwards. To reach all the patients that need our care, to increase the hours per day that we are available, we need to increase the resilience of our aviation capability by having a second aircraft and build an operation base which is fit for 24-hour operations.
“With thanks to the wonderful generosity of the public to our cause thus far, we’ve started to put plans in place by securing a delivery slot from the helicopter manufacturer and having an initial design scheme for an operational base upgrade.
“Our birthday next year brings the challenging gift of ensuring that we have the funds to complete these enhancements to our service and to cover the operational costs that continue to rise. But it also brings the opportunity to reach and provide life-saving care to patients in their hour of great need and that opportunity is huge motivation enough.
“Throughout Air Ambulance Week, you can make a difference; each act of kindness today, becomes hope for tomorrow. Your support is vital in enabling us to reach every patient that needs us.”
If you are thinking of holding an event, one way to get involved is by holding a ‘Brew for the Crew’ event in your home, within the community, in your workplace or at school. This initiative is proving popular as anyone can get involved, by getting together for a catchup over a hot drink and treats. It’s free to sign up and those who do so will get everything they need to promote their event and make it a success, as the charity has created a number of downloadable resources to help. This includes access to a fundraising pack full of tips and ideas and resources such as template posters and invitations and other materials such as cake recipe cards, cake toppers and bunting.
Sign up for Brew for the Crew at www.dsairambulance.org.uk/signup-bftc.
More information on Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance can be found by visiting: www.dsairambulance.org.uk. To donate £10 today, visit www.dsairambulance.org.uk/donate or call 01823 669604. To join the Flight for Life Lottery, visit www.dsairambulance.org.uk/join-our-lottery or to become a regular donor, go to www.dsairambulance.org.uk/regular-donation.
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