Air Ambulance charities unite in the name of one vital life-saving cause

Photo caption (from left to right): Making history – Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, Magpas Air Ambulance, East Anglian Air Ambulance and London’s Air Ambulance, their enhanced medical teams and Air Crews gather to mark this year’s National Air Ambulance Week (#NAAW2017)

Imagine if you could make a crucial difference to people’s lives if they find themselves in a life-threatening emergency. The public are being urged to do just that during National Air Ambulance Week.

For the first time in history, four air ambulance charities across the Eastern Region and the Capital have come together to raise awareness of the emergency pre-hospital care they bring to patients in their time of need. In 2016 alone, East Anglian Air Ambulance, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, London’s Air Ambulance and Magpas Air Ambulance were called out to 6,787 serious medical emergencies, providing advanced critical care at the scene. All these charities rely on funding to ensure they can continue to deliver this life-saving service to thousands of people each year.

National Air Ambulance Week runs from 11th – 17th September. To mark the occasion these four air ambulance charities are encouraging the public to support their local air ambulance in any way they can.

One of the many ways to help is to make a £1 donation for a helicopter pin badge. There are four pin badges to collect, each representing the four air ambulance charities. The badges are available throughout the East of England and London.

Please contact your local air ambulance to find out how you can make a life-saving difference, wherever you are.

Editor’s notes
National Air Ambulance Week 2017 hashtag:
#NAAW2017

The four Air Ambulances’ charity websites:
https://www.eaaa.org.uk/
https://www.ehaat.org/
https://londonsairambulance.co.uk/
https://www.magpas.org.uk/

The helicopter pin badge campaign details:
There are four collectible badges available, one styled on each helicopter.
The badges will be made available for a suggested £1 donation throughout the MRH retail network, in other petrol stations and retail outlets across the region, as well as across independent shops, Stansted and other London Airports. Throughout National Air Ambulance Week, these badges will also be taken out on bucket collections. Regardless of badge design, the profits will go towards the local Air Ambulance selling the badges, meaning that all Air Ambulances have the chance to raise the profile of their neighbours and highlight how all Air Ambulances work together for the benefit of the patient.

As well as working together to create and distribute the badges, the communications teams from each Charity have worked together to produce a video that will run throughout National Air Ambulance Week and, in addition, have staged a photograph of all four Air Ambulances together for the first time, signalling the importance of the services they provide for patients in need across the region.

Quotes from each air ambulance charity involved:
Maria Alexander, Head of Fundraising, EHAAT, said: “This is a huge leap forward for us. We want these badges to give us the opportunity to start working together more regularly and shine a light on the larger Air Ambulance community and the importance of the work we do. We usually have borders to fundraising, but there are no barriers to us saving lives and, ideally, this project will be a trial to continue and grow with next year’s National Air Ambulance Week.”

Debbie Florence, Head of Community Fundraising, Magpas Air Ambulance, added: “This joint fundraising collaboration between four progressive air ambulances has never occurred in the industry before! It means so much to Magpas Air Ambulance to be working in a long-term sustainable partnership under the banner of “support your local air ambulance – together we save lives”, this could, and indeed should be, the springboard for all other air ambulances to join in this campaign for 2018 and beyond to have a consistent approach and share commonality in NAAW. The pin badge concept is so simple and the great British public can wear their life-saving helicopter or indeed collect all four pin badges. By working together we educate, raise awareness and much needed funds for these amazing charities.”

Joanna Dew, Director of Fundraising, EAAA, said: “Working together with Magpas, EHAAT and London’s Air Ambulance for National Air Ambulance Week has been an absolute pleasure and a fantastic way to showcase the work we all do. The Air Ambulance pin badge is a great initiative for the public to get involved with to show support for all the local Air Ambulances, buying any or all of the badges will help keep your local HEMS team flying.”

Mark Davies, Director of Development, London’s Air Ambulance summarised: “It is fantastic partnering with our Air Ambulance neighbours on this brilliant project. National Air Ambulance Week is all about using our joint influence to raise awareness of our charitable status and the pin badge campaign is a really creative way to do this. It will also raise much needed funds so we can continue to deliver our life saving service, whilst demonstrating how the air ambulance community works together for the benefit of all.”