National Volunteers’ Week 2022
Kate Lloyd-Davies

Volunteering at EHAAT –  Kate Lloyd-Davies

I first heard about EHAAT by chance in 2010, shortly after taking early retirement and when I was trying to find an interesting volunteering opportunity.  After talking to one of the volunteers who was representing the charity at a concert I was singing in, I decided that this was what I was looking for.  At the time, the Herts helicopter had only been flying for 2 years, and the whole of the Herts fundraising team worked out of a tiny office in the old hangar at North Weald.  How things have grown since then! 

Over the past 12 years, I have given many talks and have also been involved in everything from bucket collections to manning stands at fundraising events, helping at landings when the helicopter is on a PR visit, helping in the office, working in the cash room, having a (small) tin round and attending events to receive cheques.  Now that the new airbase at North Weald is operational, I am also part of the volunteer rota on the desk in Reception. 

Quite apart from the satisfaction of helping to raise money for such a worthwhile cause, volunteering for EHAAT has given me the chance to meet so many interesting people – not just the staff, crew and volunteers, but also among the general public.  I could never have guessed that a chance conversation 12 years ago would lead to so much.