General

A determined team of cyclists travelled from London through Wharfedale ahead of a rugby match to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

The group set off from Richmond, West London, and arrived at Wharfedale Rugby Club at Threshfield just before the two teams played each other.

The cyclists were Robert Fort, Nick Gains, Tim Lockett, Ian Moulding, Jennie Routley, John Younger and Dave Townson, with John Dias and Alison Fort acting as a support team.

The stunt raised £6,500 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, the club's chosen charity for the season. Tony Doveston, YAA's North Yorkshire Regional Fundraising Manager said: "A tremendous effort – our gratitude and admiration go to the organisers and riders, and of course to the rugby club for their wonderful support."

Pictured is Tony Doveston being presented the cheque from the Wharfedale cyclists

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) are facing increased daily running costs as it works to further improve its service and save more lives.

The charity, which up until now has needed £7200 every day to keep its two helicopters running, now needs to raise a further £2,790 each day, taking the new daily running cost to £9990 – equivalent to £3.6million each year.

The rise in operational costs comes as the charity, which receives no direct government funding, strives to implement further service improvements which would directly benefit the people of Yorkshire.

Peter Sunderland, Chairman of the YAA explains: “For the last five to six years we have been able to fix our daily running costs at £7200 each day, or the equivalent of £2.6million every year. However, we have not been immune to the challenging economic environment over the last few years and as a result, are seeing a major impact on our running costs. We have to pay utility bills like everyone else, and we’ve all seen an increase in those costs over the years. But mainly, we are seeing increasing operational costs – primarily fuel, premises, maintenance and other on-costs associated with operating two very large helicopters.”

Each year, both of our aircrafts have to undergo mandatory servicing in line with regulations – similar to our car going in for its service & MOT. However our helicopters are each grounded for 4 to 6 weeks as a result of this. Given the vast topography and area of Yorkshire, we cannot operate with just one helicopter for that length of time, so we have to budget to hire in a relief aircraft during these periods.

Last year the YAA attended a total of 933 incidents, and in turn transported 431 patients directly to hospital for treatment – up from 376 patients the previous year.

Peter continues “We also have to plan for the future. At some point the replacement of our oldest helicopter, G-SASH will be necessary and a designated fund has been set up for such major purchases. At present, to replace G-SASH, the charity would be looking at something in the region of £6 – 8 million – which is a huge amount of money. This clearly illustrates why it is so important for us to financially plan & secure the future of the YAA.”

Operational advances in recent years have led to significant improvements to the YAA’s service. The charity now operates both its own helicopters through their own Air Operators Certificate which also allows it to employ its own pilots, which has lead to an increased number of available and actual flying hours for both of the helicopters. Their two air support units are equipped with state of the art technology and infrastructure, which enable the crews to respond to incidents in the quickest possible time.

This summer will also see a further advancement to the service when the charity will relocate from their current base at Leeds Bradford Airport to a new improved base at Nostell Priory near Wakefield.

Peter added: “The relocation to Nostell will enhance our service across the region. It will improve flying times to remote areas in West and South Yorkshire and will create an operational overlap in our busiest areas. Our new base will compliment or existing Northern base at RAF Topcliffe near Thirsk”

“These developments help underpin the fast, efficient service that we are able to provide. In summary, the increase in the annual income required reflects the cost of operational developments in recent years and also enables planned improvements to the service into the future. This prudent management of funds helps to ensure that we continue to provide a first class service to the people of Yorkshire and save more lives every year.”

“The charity is extremely aware that we would not be able to fund the running of the YAA without the help and support we receive from the people of Yorkshire. Everyday we are overwhelmed by the amazing support that is shown towards the charity, from donations and fundraising events to touching stories of how we have rescued friends and family members. We are unable to convey just how grateful we are to all those people who support us, and I will once again say it to everyone who supports our charity – thank you”

Peter concludes: “We are confident that we will be able to meet the new daily running cost of £9990, and with the support of the people of Yorkshire, we can continue to provide a state of the art, rapid response emergency service 365 days per year across the region.”

The man in charge of fundraising for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance has spoken of the humbling experience of taking part in the Pedal For Pounds bike ride.

Paul Gowland, director of fundraising for the Elland based charity, praised the efforts of all those who took part in the 280 mile Tour de Yorkshire.

The ride, which finished on Saturday (4th May) at the John Smith’s Stadium, is set to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for Huddersfield Town’s Keep It Up campaign in support of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Club’s academy.

Paul, who raised £1,100 by taking part in the three day ride said: “The first two days were pretty good. The weather was nice and the ride was very well planned. The third day, we had the wind in our faces and from Scarborough we had a six mile climb up Sutton Bank. It was hard going and my knee ‘popped’. I was thinking, ‘this takes all the fun out of fundraising for me.’ But then a photographer was taking our pictures as we came down and the fun came back!”

Paul, who was joined by YAA’s chief pilot, Andy Lister, on the ride, said he was amazed to see Town flags and scarves hanging from windows in small villages on the route.

“With all the training for the ride, a group of friends did most of the work getting sponsorship for me,” he said. “Then at my local pub, the Shepherd’s Rest in Sowerby Bridge, they had organised a raffle and someone had donated the cash prize anonomously. It is very humbling the amount of support people have given – and I’m sure that’s the same for all the other riders.

I’d just like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part, and to remind people there’s still chance to donate.”

www.justgiving.com/Paul-Gowland-YAA

Generous residents in Knottingley have clubbed together to raise £2,000 in aid of Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Rockware Sports and Social Club on Weeland Road, has spent the past year raising much needed funds for the independent charity.

It was chosen by members of the club as its charity of the year and they have organised a number of events to help support its work.

Stewardess Sally Baines Said: "We've had all sorts of stuff going off to raise money. We've had various raffles, some people did Movember and grew moustaches. we also had a swear tin on the bar and there was about £400 in that."

The club also had a Christmas raffle to help raise money for the charity. Staff presented the cash to Yorkshire Air Ambulance last month. Mrs Baines added: "We didn't expect to raise this much at all. It's a great effort by everyone."

Kerry Garner, West Yorkshire Regional Fundraiser at Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said: "On behalf of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance I would like to say a big thank you to the club for raising a fantastic amount of money. It will go a long way towards keeping our two air ambulances saving lives."

The Leeds office of international legal practice, Squire Sanders has chosen to raise funds for Yorkshire Air Ambulance in 2013, helping the charity to continue providing a life saving service to 5 million people across the region. Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent charity providing a life saving rapid response emergency service to people across Yorkshire. With the county's varied topography it is often difficult for land ambulances to rescue individuals in remote locations or assist with major trauma cases, YAA however is on average only 10 minutes flying time from the nearest hospital and 15 minutes from the most relevant treatment centre. In many cases this speedy response can save lives. The charity has two air ambulances which operate from Leeds Bradford Airport and RAF Topcliffe near Thirsk which cover the whole of the region. YAA is completely dependent upon the generosity of the public and has to raise a staggering £9990 per day in order to keep the air ambulances in the air. Lindsay Texel, Squire Sanders Partner and Head of the Leeds Charity Committe said: "So many lives are and continue to be touched by the fantastic work that the charity does. My colleagues here in Leeds appreciate how important the YAA's work is as they have a bird's eye view of the LGI's rooftop helipad from their office windows and often see the air ambulances 'in action' delivering seriously ill or injured patients for treatment. We have a wide range of activities planned over the coming months including a 'Run for Home' challenge in which teams will be dropped by coach at a secret location and have to make their way back to the Leeds office in the fastest time possible without money, maps or phones/GPS technology and a partner leader event in the Summer, 'I'm a Partner…Get Me Out Of Here' in which the Leeds Partners will face a series of bushtucker style trials to raise money for YAA. Our colleagues, clients and friends always make a tremendous effort to support our charity activities and we are already well on our way to another successful year of fundraising." Nicky Massen, YAA Regional Fundraising Manager added: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with Squire Sanders. The need for Yorkshire's business community to support our charity has never been stronger as we rely heavily on companies to raise funds like this, through sponsorship or by joining our Business Supporters' Network in order to keep this service operational."

Yorkshire Air Ambulance are flying high after netting an amazing world record.

Three helicopter medics with family and friends joined forces with teaching staff from Wickersley School and Sports College, Rotherham, to break the record for the longest marathon playing five-a-side football.

The 15 players were split into a white and black team and in a staggering feat of endurance kept passing, tackling and shooting for an amazing 43 hours with the white team eventually running out winners by 827-454.

The marathon match also raised nearly £5,500 for the YAA which provides a life-saving rapid response emergency service to five million people across the region.

This was the second time the air ambulance paramedics had tried to break the five-a-side football playing record. YAA paramedic Pete Vallance, who organised the attempt, said: "We went for the record outside during one of the wettest weekends of last summer and had to abandon it after 30 hours for safety reasons and injuries to players.

So we were really determined to make it this time and everyone at Wickersley College was fantastic – even providing us with food and water over the weekend.

It was really hard and we were so grateful for the support we got. Most of us play five-a-side football on a regular basis but there was really no way you could prepare for the physical and mental toughness of this challenge.

For every six hours played you could get a 30 minute rest, but time off the pitch was no included in the official playing time, so the match actually lasted longer than 43 hours.

When the letter finally came through to say we had officially broken the record I was jumping around like a kid. It's just brilliant."

Pete was joined in the attempt by fellow paramedics Matt Syrat and Paul Kilner – all well-known faces to fans of the BBC series Helicopter Heroes which returns to our screens this Spring.

Photo (from L-R) shows YAA paramedics Matt Syrat, Pete Vallance and Paul Kilner with fellow Guinness World Record holders from Wickersley School and Sports College.

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.