Air Ambulance Northern Ireland is delighted to celebrate a hugely successful fundraising partnership with Hub Packaging, which has raised an incredible £21,186 in support of the charity’s life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.
The impressive total will help fund nearly three full days of Air Ambulance Northern Ireland operations, a vital contribution to a service that costs approximately £8,200 per day to keep the helicopter, medical crew and aviation team fully operational.
Throughout 2025, the team at Hub Packaging showed outstanding commitment and enthusiasm, taking part in a wide range of creative and challenging fundraising activities. These included a March Steps Challenge, two Wear Red Days, a Bag Packaging Day, Black Friday sales donations, an office weight loss challenge, an office raffle, and a quiz celebrating Guernsey, the home of CEO Andrew Ward. One of the standout moments of the year saw team members bravely take on the Croke Park Abseil.
As part of the partnership, colleagues from Hub Packaging also visited the Air Ambulance Northern Ireland base, where they met members of the medical and aviation teams and gained first-hand insight into how their fundraising directly supports emergency response and critical care across Northern Ireland.
Andrew Ward, CEO of Hub Packaging, said:
“AANI provides unparalleled support for rural communities across Northern Ireland when it is most needed. It has been a pleasure to work closely with the AANI team during 2025 as our chosen charity. The harsh reality is it costs £8,000 per day to keep the helicopter, crew and medical staff fully operational and we hope the donation from the team at Hub Packaging has helped in a small way.”
Air Ambulance Northern Ireland would like to extend sincere thanks to all Hub Packaging employees, customers and supporters who contributed to this fantastic fundraising effort.
Bebhionn Hardy, Community Fundraising Coordinator at Air Ambulance NI added:
“We are incredibly grateful to everyone at Hub Packaging for their dedication, creativity and generosity throughout the year. Raising £21,186 is a phenomenal achievement and will help fund nearly three days of our service, enabling our medical team to deliver advanced pre-hospital care to patients when every minute matters. Support from corporate partners like Hub Packaging truly helps us save lives.”
The charity Air Ambulance NI, in partnership with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, provides the HEMS for Northern Ireland. The service brings urgent medical assistance to anywhere in the province, operating seven days a week for 12 hours per day. The HEMS team attend patients who are seriously ill or injured, bringing emergency pre-hospital care direct to the casualty with the aim of saving lives, brains and limbs. The aircraft can reach anywhere in the province within twenty-five minutes.
On average the medical team are called upon twice every day, whether that to a serious road traffic collision, farm or workplace accident, sport and leisure incident or a serious medical emergency.
Any patients or families who have been touched by the work of the Air Ambulance are welcome to visit the airbase and should get in touch with Air Ambulance NI by calling 028 9262 2677. As a local charity, Air Ambulance NI aspires to raise £3 million each year to maintain and sustain this service so public donations are crucial. One of the simplest ways to support is by becoming a member of Club AANI and donating via a monthly or annual subscription.
