A group of young farmers have raised £100,000 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service by pulling a replica helicopter 77 miles.
Drigg Young Farmers Club pulled the replica, modelled on the service’s helicopter, from their village to the charity’s base in Langwathby, near Penrith on July 19 and July 20.
Over 80 members – the youngest aged 11 – along with older advisory members and friends of the club helped out, with around 75 people pulling and pushing the helicopter over the two days.
They were supported by a team of stewards who marshalled the roads and transported the pushing teams to various stages along the route.
The cost to source, transport and transform the car into a replica helicopter was supported by the Fawcett families, Colin W Parker Ltd Haulage, Holt motorcycles and Thomas Graham & Sons.
The route for Welly the Heli started at Drigg Village Hall before going through Seascale, Gosforth, Beckermet, St Bees, Whitehaven, Workington, Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith.
When they reached their final destination, they had raised over £30,000, which is enough to fund a full day of operations at the charity.
Sarah Fawcett, of Drigg YFC said: “We chose the Great North Air Ambulance Service as we all have friends or family that have unfortunately had to make use of the service and with it being completely reliant on charitable donations we wanted to give something back to this life-saving, essential service in our local area.
“One of our members was airlifted last year after a horse-riding accident and joined us to push the helicopter.”
The young farmers also have held several fundraising events throughout the year, including a muck haul, helicopter-themed beetle drive, mother’s day afternoon tea, tractor run, and charity auction.
They’ve also taken Welly the Heli to shows and events in Cumbria, where it was on display for the public.
On Sunday October 26, the young farmers returned to Langwathby to present the charity with a cheque for £100,000.
Sarah said: “Our goal at the start of our journey was to fund at least one day’s running costs.
“When our celebration night on Friday revealed we’d reached £96,410.68, we knew we had to push just a bit further and thanks to our incredible sponsors, we made it to £100,000.”
Deborah Usher, community fundraiser at the Great North Air Ambulance, added: “On behalf of GNAAS I want to say a massive thank you to Drigg YFC for their amazing effort and the amount they have raised is phenomenal.
“What they’ve achieved isn’t just impressive, it’s inspiring. Organising a fundraiser of this size takes time, energy, teamwork, and a big heart and they’ve all shown that in abundance.
“Every pound they’ve raised will help to keep our helicopters flying, our team on standby, and life-saving care reaching people when they need it most.
“Thank you to everyone who took part, donated, organised or simply came along to show their support, you are helping us to bring hope to people on their worst day.”
