The region’s air ambulance are halfway to reaching their birthday fundraising target.
This year, The Great North Air Ambulance celebrated 20 years of providing life-saving care across Cumbria and as part of their celebrations, they set up a birthday raffle that has now raised £50,000, with a month still to go until the draw date.
Some of the charity’s achievements over the years include introducing doctors on board their aircraft and rapid response vehicles, delivering blood transfusions to more than 500 patients and performing successful roadside open chest surgeries.
Andy Mawson, director of operations said: “It’s fantastic that we’re halfway to our fundraising target, and we’re very grateful for everyone who has bought or sold tickets, but there’s still a long way to go to reach £100,000. As a charity, we rely on public donations to survive and need to raise approximately £6.7m this year to remain operational in the region.
“Every time someone purchases a raffle ticket, they are contributing towards the life-saving care that our team deliver to the most critically ill or injured people across the region.”
Last year the charity’s critical care teams based at Eaglescliffe and Penrith responded to 1,620 incidents, which was one of their busiest years on record. With the relaxation of COVID restrictions, the number of incidents attended this year is expected to be higher.
Andy added: “We understand that this year, and the culmination of the past few years, have made a huge impact on people’s finances. We have seen this impact in the reality of our ticket sales for the raffle, compared to previous years. We know times are hard but if you value the work of our charity, please consider buying a ticket to support your local air ambulance.
“If we reach our target of raising £100,000 from the raffle, this will cover the cost of around 20 missions, which is potentially 20 people’s lives saved, and many families kept together as a result.”
The charity said they are aiming to provide 24/7 service, but that this can only be achieved through additional funding.
Tickets cost £1 each and the top prize is £10,000. To help GNAAS reach this target and be in with a chance of winning the top prize, buy your raffle tickets here: https://gna.as/2022raffle or call 01325 487 263.
