How far do donations go?
£5 could pay for 300 litres of life-saving oxygen to help critically ill children breathe
£10 pays for enough fuel for 3 miles when transporting a child to specialist care
£33 (or £3 from 11 people) pays for a manual suction unit - these clear airways for patients to keep them breathing.
Patient stories
Alba - Margate
At just four months old, Alba was sent to hospital in Margate after developing bronchiolitis (a respiratory infection). Making a snap decision to send her to Evelina Children’s Hospital after her condition failed to improve with oxygen, they were able to make the 2 hour drive in just 30 minutes and ultimately received life-saving treatment thanks to the Children’s Air Ambulance.
Elsie - North Devon
Baby Elsie developed a heart condition that her parents were unaware of and had to get her to hospital in Bristol for emergency heart surgery. Saving 90 minutes over a 100 mile journey, Elsie was in Bristol in no time and on the operating table. After successfuly undergoing surgery, Elsie’s parents credit the Children’s Air Ambulance for saving their baby girl’s life.
There are many other patient stories on their website.
Other ways to show your support
For the younger fundraisers out there, they should consider joining #TheCrew, a fundraising club made for children by children. By joining up, children will receive support and guidance throughout their fundraising campaigns and can earn silver or gold status as members which brings rewards every time you step up a level. They’ll also learn and develop skills such as budgeting and planning; organisational skills; and interpersonal skills. For more information and where to sign up, check out the The Crew section of their website.
Volunteering in the office during your free time is extremely valuable to any charity, even more so with Children’s Air Ambulance as every pound spent on administrative work is one pound unspent on petrol and equipment to save lives. When volunteering in the office, you can help with manning the phones, banking donations and thanking supporters, sending out fundraising materials to name a few. Hours can be flexible although they do operate within usual office hours and a regular commitment is required. For more information head over to their Office Volunteers page.