THURSDAY 9.15am: It will fly an average of six missions a day, but £300,000 needs to be raised by the end of March to get the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance off the ground.
The appeal is already at the halfway point but there's still much to be done so the Melton Times is today calling on its readers to rally round and help us raise £10,000 in 10 weeks.
An account has been opened at The Melton building society, and East Midlands Airport, where the service will be based, has made a donation of £1,000 to get the appeal off to a flying start.
And on Friday, February 29 – Leap Year's Day – the Melton Times will be staging a Bring A Pound To Work Day to get everyone involved.
WE NEED YOU TO HELP ANGEL OF THE SKIES FLY
It's our fourth emergency service and it saves lives – and YOU can help our angel of the skies to fly.
The helicopter which will take over the running of the county's air ambulance on April 1 has already been painted in its new livery and will carry a doctor on board as well as a paramedic.
For the handover on March 31 the new Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA) needs to raise £300,000 to cover initial operating costs and get it off the ground.
Bosses at the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, the new service's 'mother' charity, are confident of raising this sum and meeting the £1.5m annual cost of the service. The singer Engelbert Humperdink has agreed to be DLRAA's patron and will head up charity campaigns.
It came to the rescue after it emerged last year that the West Midlands Ambulance Service, which runs the County Air Ambulance, was going to move its aircraft from East Midlands Airport to a base in Staffordshire.
Thanks to DLRAA, the East Midlands will still have cover but it's vital a new fundraising set up is put in place – and that's where you come in.
Barbara Parish, regional fundraising manager for the DLRAA, said: "We receive no Government funding and no Lottery funding, every single penny has to be raised through charitable donations so we need everyone's help.
"We need people to come forward and hold fundraising events, we need businesses and schools to adopt us as their charities, shops to take a collection tin and we need to set up a Melton fundraising committee to keep up the momentum. If you can help in any way, however small, please support the Melton Times appeal and get in touch."
A retiring collection will be held at tonight's Melton
Times New Year Honours presentation night at Stapleford Park, while Burton Lazars Arts and Crafts Club is to donate 10 per cent of sale proceeds from its open day in the village hall on Saturday, February 2 (10am to 4pm).
The Melton Lions' Swimarathon event has also pledged to donate funds to the air ambulance appeal, and the Melton Times will be encouraging everyone to take part in its Bring A Pound To Work Day on Friday, February 29 – Leap Year's Day. Look out for more details in the coming weeks.
Melton Times editor Michael Cooke said: "Attempting to raise £10,000 in 10 weeks is a big ask, but a challenge I am sure our readers will rise to.
"You can help by making a donation using the form below or by organising something fun at home, school or work to raise money.
"Please get in touch and we will let everyone know what you're doing for the appeal.
"We're also keen to hear from anyone who has been helped by the air ambulance so we can tell your story."
- Call our air ambulance action desk now on (01664) 412522.
HOW YOU CAN HELPThe motto of the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance is 'help us today; you may need us tomorrow'.
It is supported entirely through voluntary donations – and it costs £1.5m a year to operate the service.
There are a number of ways in which you can help:-
- Fundraising at home, work or school
- Having a collection box
- Becoming a corporate sponsor
- Becoming a volunteer
- Purchasing air ambulance merchandise
- Making a donation (see coupon), not forgetting to fill out the Gift Aid declaration.
To get involved in any way through the Melton Times air ambulance appeal call our action desk on (01664) 412522.
A special appeal account has been set up at The Melton building society where donations and the proceeds from fundraising events can be paid in. The account number is GGG3336694COO – Air Ambulance.
To view a 360 degree panoramic tour of the air ambulance click here
http://www.opticalfx.co.uk/hosted_tours/air_ambulance/index.htmlThe full article contains 803 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
