Air Ambulance Northern Ireland has won a £1,000 Movement for Good award from Ecclesiastical Insurance Group thanks to nominations from the public.
Air Ambulance NI is one of 500 winners in specialist insurer Ecclesiastical’s Movement for Good awards, which is giving £1million to charities this summer.
Air Ambulance NI works in partnership with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service to provide the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service for NI.
The donation to our charity will help fund our lifesaving missions. Every day a HEMS Doctor and HEMS Paramedic travel to critically ill or injured patients to provide potentially lifesaving treatment at scene. The team travel mostly by helicopter, meaning they can reach anywhere in NI in approximately 25 minutes. Sadly, on average, there are two individuals whose injuries are so severe that they need the interventions of the HEMS team. Thanks to your donations, the care provided saves lives, brains and limbs. Each day fundraising of £5,500 is needed to keep the helicopter flying and the team saving lives. The funds from Ecclesiastical will help many costs including helicopter rental, fuel, pilot flying hours and engineer support to keep the helicopter ready to fly.
Members of the public were invited to nominate causes close to their hearts, with 500 gifts of £1,000 available for donation. Over 13,000 charities were nominated by more than 210,000 members of the public.
Kerry Anderson, Head of Fundraising at Air Ambualnce NI said, “The donation could save a life or provide fuel to take us to the next four critically ill patients. We would like to say a heartfelt thank you so much to everyone who decided to nominate Air Ambulance NI for this award. It will make such a difference to someone in the worst situation and will help ensure the HEMS is there for all of us, every day.”
Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Ecclesiastical Insurance Group, says: “We would like to thank every single person who took the time to nominate a good cause as part of our Movement for Good awards. Ecclesiastical, the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK, is a unique financial services group. We are owned by a charity which means all available profits can be given to the good causes that are so important to our customers. As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of our business. We know that £1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better.”