to the 10th Edition of the WAAA Lift Off Magazine… celebrating our 19th Anniversary
The Wiltshire Police / Air Ambulance Helicopter has proved, once again, to be an incredible asset to the County of Wiltshire. 2008 was one of our busiest years to date in which we attended 618 Incidents, with 311 patients having been conveyed to hospital. Not all of the incidents we attend have a happy ending unfortunately, but without this service there is no doubt that most of the patients flown to hospital in 2008 would not be alive today!
In December 2008 we were pleased to announce the signing of the new 5 year contract between the Great Western Ambulance Service, Wiltshire Police, and Police Aviation Services. This has secured the helicopter emergency service in Wiltshire and ensured that in December 2009 the helicopter will receive new up-graded thermal imaging camera equipment, which will much improve our capabilities when undertaking night time missions.
We were all delighted to receive a Royal Visit from HRH The Duchess of Cornwall in November 2008, at the Air Operations Unit in Devizes. The helicopter crew, patients and volunteers all had an opportunity to meet HRH who spent a morning touring the unit and helicopter and chatting with invited guests. It was a really exciting visit at which everyone thoroughly enjoyed meeting HRH.
In our 19th anniversary year 2009 is promising to be the Appeals most successful year to date!
We have now launched our textile bank recycling scheme and mobile phone and ink cartridge recycling. Thanks to your support the first quarter has been extremely successful and raised an incredible £2,500 for the Appeal. And in the summer of 2009 we are due to launch our very own weekly lottery, so keep an eye on our website for all the details.
We are delighted that Colin Smith has now joined the Appeal on a part-time basis and is responsible for all of our collection tins in circulation. The collection tins generate approximately £25,000 per year in donations for the Appeal, but with the help of Colin and the support of the people of Wiltshire we are hoping to double that figure in the next 12 months. If you have a venue that could house one of our collection tins then please call Colin at the Appeal Office.
The Westbury Charity Shop just keeps going from strength to strength! In 2008 Dot and her team of dedicated volunteers sent us donations in excess of £80,000, which totalled their contributions to an incredible £1m in their 10 years of doing business! We are also hoping that 2009 will also see the opening of our 2nd charity shop in Devizes and announcements will be made in the local press and on our website.
The Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal is entirely dependent upon public support to raise in excess of £500,000 per year to keep the helicopter flying. We do not receive any government funding nor do we qualify for a grant from the National Lottery. This essential emergency service would not be in our skies without the generosity and the support of the people of Wiltshire, so we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us over the years.
If you would like further details about the Appeal or would like to make a donation then please contact Melanie Gee at the Appeal Office on 0845 122 1423. We are always seeking new volunteers, venues for our textile banks, homes for our collection tins, support at events, and new, fun and innovative fund raising ideas. We would welcome your input and look forward to hearing from you. Don’t forget to keep us informed about your own fund raising events as well so that we can post announcements on our website and support you where and when possible.
From everyone at the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal – Thank You for your continued support.
Without you we would be grounded!
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