General

A group of friends have completed a 36 hour pool marathon to raise funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

The six players picked up their cues on 10am last Monday, finishing at 10pm the following night.

Peter Argument, who took part in the challenge, said they had completed a 24 hour marathon last year and had decided to add an extra 12 hours this time. "The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is such a good cause and we do need it, particularly covering Dalby Forest and the moors," he said. "It is such a wonderful charity to support and we felt we had to increase the challenge to get people to support us."

Peter said the pool marathon took place at the Buck Inn, Thornton le Dale, where many of the group play for the pub pool team. "A lot of local people came to support us and the staff at the pub were absolutely fantastic – real heroes," he said. "Everyone gave us encouragement to keep going and we also had staff from the Yorkshire Air Ambulance on Twitter encouraging us as well." Peter said they had hit a number of "walls" during the marathon, particularly during the hours of the morning. "It was worst at about 4am or 5am when it was still dark and the time seemed to drag but when we felt like giving up we thought about why we were doing it," he said. "When we finished we had a pint and then all went home for a sleep – it was really exhausting."

Peter said they had raised about £700 and hoped people would continue to make a donation at the Buck Inn or directly to the YAA. We know times are hard but we really want to raise as much as we can for this really worthy cause," he added.

Linedancers have given the Yorkshire Air Ambulance a welcomed lift.

The Inlwas and Outlaws line dancing group have helped to raise £1,890 for the charity despite missing the whole of January last year due to illness.

The group has been in the area for the last 16 years and since 2004 they have been raising much needed funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance mainly through monthly raffles at their classes in Brighouse, Lightcliffe and Wyke.

Funds were also raised by the sale of books, greeting cards, vegetables, donations and a loose change jar which adds a fair amount to the fundraising total.

Ron and Wendy Huckerby, who live in Lightcliffe said: "Since 2004 we have raised a total of £15,860 which is down to the continued generosity of our class members to whom we give our sincere thanks. These donations couldn't happen without them."

Pictured is Kerry Garner, West Yorkshire fundraising manager receiving the cheque from Inlaws and Outlaws line dancing group at Brighouse Assembly Rooms.

A round table group has handed over £7,000 to two air ambulance charities following a sponsored cycle ride from Edinburgh to Newcastle.

Twenty two members of the Wensleydale Round Table completed the challenge. The group also ran the car parking for the Dales Festival of Food and Drink and received donations from motorists.

The money was split – £3,500 each – between Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Great North Air Ambulance.

Gary Simpson, group chairman, said “They’re both great causes. We live in a rural area and you never know when you may need an air ambulance.”

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance cheque was accepted by Tony Doveston, North Yorkshire fundraising manager. He said “We’re delighted that Wensleydale Round Table has raised such a large amount of money for the service. In the 13 years we have been in existence, we have carried out 4,850 patient recoveries and the value of an air ambulance is particularly show in a rural area.”

Mandy Drake, head of fundraising at GNAA, also thanked the round tablers for their contribution.

Anybody interested in joining the Wensleydale Round Table can call Mr Simpson on 07702879860 or vice chair Dave Spenceley on 07714324253

Pictured is Gary Simpson, chairman of Wensleydale Round Table, with Tony Doveston, North Yorkshire regional fundraising manager.

Walk For Pounds 2 Raises £16,000!

Huddersfield Town and Yorkshire Air Ambulance are delighted to announce that the second annual ‘Walk for Pounds’ event has raised an incredible £16,000 for the ‘Keep It Up’ campaign!

Almost 200 fans walked the 19 miles from the Club’s Canalside Sports Complex to Barnsley FC’s Oakwell on Saturday 10 November 2012 for the unique fundraising campaign, which benefits both the Huddersfield Town Academy and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) charity.

The walk, which was sponsored by Club partner Orchard Environmental, was the second of its kind. Last season, 175 fans including ex HTAFC Manager Peter Jackson trekked 27 miles over the Yorkshire Moors to Bury FC for the campaign.

Huddersfield Town Supporter Partnerships Manager, Robyn Deegan, told htafc.com: “We are delighted with the figure raised as we look to meet our £1m fundraising target by the end of the season.

It was a long and grueling walk, but to have raised such a large amount of money will hopefully have made the walkers’ hard work worth it.

It was a fantastic effort and brilliant to see 200 Town fans all working towards the same cause; I would also like to place on record my thanks to all the helpers and our sponsor, Orchard Environmental.”

Paul Gowland, Head of Fundraising at Yorkshire Air Ambulance commented: “The generosity of Huddersfield Town fans and their friends and families, and their continued backing of ‘Keep It Up’ is brilliant, and on behalf of the charity I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this fantastic total for the second ‘Walk for Pounds’”.

For more information on the ‘Keep It Up’ campaign, please contact Supporter Partnerships Manager Robyn Deegan on robyn.deegan@htafc.com.

To donate, please text KIUP99 £5 to 70070 or visit www.justgiving.com/keepitupcampaign.

During the last week, we have had quite a few phone calls into Charity HQ asking if we have sent people out door knocking asking supporters to sign up for a lottery scheme.

Given that the Yorkshire Air Ambulance has never ever used door knocking as part of our fundraising strategy, we have become increasing concerned about these bogus YAA representatives.

To clarify, the YAA would never send any staff or volunteers door knocking asking you to sign up to a lottery scheme or make a regular donation to the charity. This is something we have never done, nor do we have any imminent plans to do so.

From the little information we have gathered about these people, we understand that they are representing a fundraising organisation who are based outside of Yorkshire. We have been informed that their representatives are telling our supporters, they are from the YAA. However, we can confirm that they are most definitely not from the YAA.

Official staff and volunteers from the YAA will almost definitely carry our official ID badge, and will usually be wearing some form of YAA branded clothing (including our logo, and whether they are charity staff, or a registered volunteer)

We are sad that there are people masquerading as YAA representatives, but hope this little briefing will help to clarify the situation.

If you are approached by someone claiming to be from the YAA, and you are suspicious of their motives, please feel free to call charity HQ on 01422 237900 and we can confirm whether they are official YAA representatives or not.

Thank you to all our supporters for your continued support.

Best wishes from all at the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Specialist child doctors have praised the work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance in helping to save the lives of critically ill babies and children across the county.

Over the last year Yorkshire Air Ambulance has worked with Embrace – the Yorkshire & Humber Infant and Children’s Transport Service – to rapidly get specialist medical teams and equipment to local hospitals to deal with neonatal and paediatric emergencies.

This month alone YAA helicopters have flown two missions for Embrace, taking medical teams from their base in Barnsley to help treat very sick babies in Scarborough and Scunthorpe.

Dr Steve Hancock, lead clinician for paediatrics at Embrace, said: “Although the vast majority of our journeys are done safely and appropriately by road, there are situations where the option to use the helicopter is crucial.

“It has proved really valuable to be able to use Yorkshire Air Ambulance to get a team and equipment out to critically ill babies and children in some of our more distant hospitals.

“They can then assist the local medical team in providing life saving emergency care while the road ambulance follows on to transfer the patient to intensive care units in Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford or Hull.

“It can be 90 minutes later before the road ambulance arrives at some of the more distant hospitals in the region. So, the arrangement with Yorkshire Air Ambulance has definitely been a real step-up in our ability to equitably provide a service to the children of Yorkshire and the Humber.”

Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent charity providing a rapid response emergency service to five million people across Yorkshire – England’s largest region. It needs to raise £7,200 each day to keep its two helicopters in the air and maintained.

Abby McClymont, Marketing and Communications Manager at YAA, said: “It’s great that the Yorkshire Air Ambulance is able to assist Embrace in its work to help save the lives of babies and children across Yorkshire and the Humber.

“Our ability to fly to a destination as the crow flies means we can dramatically reduce the team’s travelling time to the hospital where the child is being treated, making sure the most specialist care gets to them in the quickest possible time.”

Embrace, which is run by Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, provides a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, transport service for critically ill neonatal and paediatric patients in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Whilst predominantly a land based service, Embrace also provides an aeromedical service moving patients both within the UK and abroad. Embrace can safely transport premature infants, children and adolescents requiring low dependency, high dependency or intensive care.

Craven Lodge Raises £1,700 for YAA

The immediate past Master of Craven Lodge, Martin Barrow, has presented £1,753 to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance after holding three fundraising events during his year in office.

A visit to Craven Country Ride, where family and friends enjoyed a tour around Pot Haw Farm at Coniston Cold, a strawberry fair held at his home and tombola all helped to boost the funds.

Mr Barrow said "We choose to support the YAA as anyone within the community may need to call upon the services which are provided by this great charity. I would like to thank everyone who supported these events as without their generosity this donation would not have been possible."

FAB!

Yorkshire Air Ambulance are ‘Flying with the Airlie Birds’ after launching an exciting three-year charity partnership with Hull FC and their charity foundation.

The club has made the rapid response emergency service its official charity partner for the next three seasons and will be a unique relationship that raises funds for both the Air Ambulance and the Hull FC Foundation.

The partnership was launched in style at the KC Stadium on Thursday (7th) with a visit from one of the Air Ambulances, which, alongside it’s sister helicopter, needs £7,200 per day to be kept in the air.

The link-up, which will be known as FAB and will include a specific charity fixture each season, will see the club offer fundraising support via a series of initiatives and events, starting with a launch evening at Napoleons Casino on Wednesday 27th February, whilst the YAA will also appear on the club’s playing shorts.

Speaking at the launch, Hull FC owner Adam Pearson said, “We are very proud to be able to work in partnership with Yorkshire Air Ambulance over the next three years and we looking forward to raising as much money as possible for the charity and the Hull FC Foundation.

“We have previously chosen a charity of the year every 12 months, but we were so impressed by Yorkshire Ambulance and the life-saving service they provide, that we will be delivering a much more formal partnership over the coming years.

“Several of our staff were given a recent tour of their facilities and they were humbled by the dedication of these people and their efforts to keep the helicopters in the air, as well as how vital and effective this service is.

“They fly seven days a week, 365 days a year, and provide life changing service with very little funding. They rely almost entirely on donations and I’m sure it is a very worthy cause that our supporters will take to their hearts over the next three years.”

Covering a vast landscape of rural areas, cities and motorways, Yorkshire Air Ambulance operates two helicopters across the region, flying from Leeds Bradford International Airport and RAF Topcliffe near Thirsk.

First set up in 2000, the charity has rescued almost 5,000 people over the past 13 years and relies on raising £2.65 million per year to continue.

Both of the charity’s air ambulances are MD902 Explorers and have state-of-the-art medical and helicopter specifications. They are able to reach speeds of 160 mph and together cover the whole of the region, often seen flying above the KC Stadium as they land at Hull Royal Infirmary.

The fast medical response that the air ambulance service provides is vital to a patient who has received major trauma, especially those with head and spinal injuries, as the air ambulance can avoid traffic congestion and uneven road surfaces.

Paul Gowland, YAA’s Director of Fundraising added “This is a really exciting new partnership for the YAA and we are really looking forward to working with Hull FC and their fans over the next three years to raise as much money as possible for our FAB partnership. Being an independent Charity, we have to rely on individuals, groups and organisations to help us raise the vital funds we need, so we’re delighted that Hull FC have chosen us as their charity partner. The YAA helicopters often fly patients into Hull Royal Infirmary and land not far from the KC Stadium. In fact last year (2012) 32 patients were taken to Hull Royal by the YAA after their incidents – that’s about 3 people every month.”

Last year, Hull FC chosen charity was Help for Heroes, with a particular focus on Phoenix House, based in Catterick, in North Yorkshire, for whom the club and its supporters raised more than £15,000 to help injured servicemen from this area.

The club will continue to work closely with Phoenix House for the foreseeable future, including a significant involvement in this year’s Armed Forces Weekend and it’s hoped the latest partnership with Yorkshrie Air Ambulance can have a similar lasting legacy.

For anyone interested in attending the launch at Napoleans Casino, please contact Hull FC on 01482 304 964.

Wharfedale Order Raises £1,900 for YAA

The Provincial Grand Primo of the RAOB Wharfedale Province for 2012 was Bro J A Cartwright ROH. He decided as his charity effort for the year to collect for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

On Tuesday 29th January at the Mason Lodge, held in the Grove Hill Club, he presented a cheque for £1,900 to Gerry Sayers, YAA volunteer representative, after first thanking all Buffs and the over 60s bingo players at the Labour Rooms on a Monday afternoon who had been very supportive.

Mrs Sayers gave a speech of thanks and said how helpful such a large amount of money would be. She also spoke about how she became involved with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

After the meeting was held everyone tucked into corned beef hash and Yorkshire puddings, and a very enjoyable evening was had by all.

Pictured is Bro A J Cartwright handing over the cheque to Gerry Sayers of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

A generous couple from Pocklington, who donated £515 to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance in lieu of gifts for their Golden Wedding Anniversary, have thanked everyone who contributed.

David and Doreen Herd celebrated their landmark anniversary on 22 December 2012 , and told anyone thinking about giving them presents to contribute money to a pot which the couple would give to the YAA.

Pictured with David and Doreen Herd is David Hebden, East Yorkshire Community Fundraiser for the YAA.

One of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s (YAA) longest-standing corporate supporters has vowed to continue to support the Charity for a further five years with services worth over £170,000. SICL, an award-winning technology company, provides the Charity with IT support, services and infrastructure and will continue to do so until at least 2018.

The YAA has long been SICL’s chosen Charity but back in 2006 it decided to do more to support the independent Charity, choosing to offer IT support and services free of charge, over five years. In total, this has saved the Charity over £125,000.

However, with the increasing IT infrastructure of the YAA, the new agreement will be now worth in excess of £170,000.

Commenting on their continuing partnership, SICL’s Managing Director Cliff Fox said: “We have a great admiration for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance; operationally, personally and ethically. We’re all very proud to support the YAA who save lives in the region in which we live and work.”

Neale Jacobs, Operations Manager for the YAA also added “We cannot thank SICL enough for their continued support. As an independent Charity, having support from companies such as SICL is invaluable. They have saved us over £125,000 over the last five years which is a huge sum of money for the YAA, so to have their continued support, which this time is worth over £170,000, is phenomenal. This is equivalent to keeping us flying for over three weeks.”

“We have to fundraise each and every day of the year to keep the Charity running, so savings of this nature really are significant, and allow us to spend donated funds on keeping both of the helicopters maintained and in the air saving lives.”

As part of the five year sponsorship deal, the SICL logo will feature on both YAA’s helicopters G-SASH & G-CEMS.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance are an independent Charity needing to raise £7,200 each day. The operate two life-saving helicopters across the Yorkshire region, seven days per week, 365 days per year. The work of the YAA is featured in the popular BBC documentary series Helicopter Heroes. More information about the Charity can be found on their website www.yaa.org.uk.

Photograph (L-R):YAA Paramedic: Paul Kilner, SICL Managing Director: Cliff Fox, YAA Operations Manager: Neale Jacobs, SICL Finance Director: Shirley Firth.

The work of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance was promoted at the latest meeting of Business for Calderdale.

Through the Yorkshire Business Supporters Network, the charity which has an office based in Elland, are encouraging businesses to become brand members.

Eastwood and Partners (Financial Services), of Elland, hosted the event which was addressed by YAA Chief Pilot Andy Lister, Regional Fundraising Manager Nicky Massen, and ex-patient Carrie Cheeseman who was seriously injured in an accident which the YAA attended and helped save her life, as well as later being called out to her husband after a cycling accident. She said nobody ever knew when their loved ones would need the service.

The YAA needs to raise £7,200 per day to keep both air ambulances in the air.

Pictured (L-R) is Carrie Cheeseman, Karen Wynard of Eastwood & Partners, Nicky Massen and Andy Lister.