Patrick and Sarah Saunders of Black Shuck Gin : Image Courtesy of EAAA
The small team at Black Shuck Gin, based in Fakenham, continue to amaze EAAA with their generosity and kindness.
As well as supporting the charity with a limited edition gin this year and other various fundraising activities, they have spent their time during the lockdown tirelessly working with government authorities to produce a very much needed Alcohol Based Hand Sanitiser.
This has been donated to regional air ambulances, care homes, schools and key workers to help save lives during the pandemic. Black Shuck Gin have made a huge impact on EAAA and on the wider community.
Patrick and Sarah Saunders of Black Shuck Gin said: "We were thrilled, honoured and proud to hear that we had won the Most Inspirational Business Category in the East Anglian Air Ambulance Inspiration Awards. All of the nominees were outstanding and we thoroughly enjoyed reading all of their stories."
Phillipa Levy, Special Events Fundraiser at EAAA, said: “All of our supporters are a constant reminder of the fantastic community that we serve and are a true inspiration to us, as without them, our service couldn't continue. The EAAA Inspiration Awards allow us to give something back to that community and share their incredibly heart-warming stories. Black Shuck Gin have supported us in numerous ways over the years and are very worthy winners of this award, which was decided by a public vote.”
Nominations are put forward by EAAA staff and recognise those who have inspired the EAAA team in different ways, with nine different award categories (Inspirational Business, Donor, Events Fundraiser, Fundraising Team, Group or Club, Patient or Patient’s family, Crew Member, Lifesaver, Volunteer and the Special CEO Award). Four of the award winners were decided by a public vote, including this award for Inspirational Business.
For more information, go to www.eaaa.org.uk
Black Shuck Gin delivering hand sanitiser to EAAA.
20 years ago, on 6 September 2000, a new charity was formed to help save lives across East Anglia: the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA). Operating initially just one day a week, on a Friday from Norwich Airport, with one paramedic, this was the start of an important lifeline for many local people.
Monday, the start of National Air Ambulance Week, EAAA can reveal that over the last 20 years it has flown almost 30,000 missions and helped almost 20,000 patients, all thanks to the generosity of local people.
At a time of so much uncertainty, the charity, which needs to raise £13 million a year to develop and deliver its service, and is aiming to start flying 24/7 for the first time next year, is deeply grateful for the public support which has enable it to pass this milestone.
Together We Run is a new fundraising challenge from East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) which is encouraging local people to pledge their miles towards a collective 2,000 mile target.
EAAA normally organises several mass participation challenge events throughout the year, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds to help keep its yellow helicopters flying and saving lives. These events cannot go ahead this year, so the charity is asking its supporters to take part in Together We Run instead, a virtual fundraising challenge from 14 – 20 September, to run (or walk) a combined 2,000 miles, wherever and whenever suits them.
If successful, this virtual running event could become a regular addition to the charity’s event calendar, along with its Only the Brave muddy obstacle run and Trek 24 walking challenges.
East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is still flying and saving lives during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the cost of keeping its crews safe has been significant.
The charity has had to quickly adapt its operating procedures and source large amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to keep its two critical care teams safe and able to support the region’s emergency services. The estimated cost of acquiring the additional PPE now required over a six-month period is over £100,000.
The charity has launched an emergency appeal for donations to help fund the PPE, which is protecting its crews and keeping the air ambulance teams safe.
More than £25,000 of unbudgeted funds has already been spent on items such as respirators, high-protection masks, visors, suits, gowns and goggles to protect the doctors and critical care paramedics who are working in the pre-hospital environment.
The medical teams from East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) will be flying the flag for East Anglia in the next series of the increasingly popular Emergency Helicopter Medics which airs on Sunday 10 November, 9pm on More4.
This is the third series EAAA has featured in the programme, which regularly pulls in more than 500,000 viewers per episode. Alongside Great North Air Ambulance and Thames and Valley Air Ambulance, the show documents emergency call outs from June to August of this year.
On Sunday 8th September more than 200 people took to the Norfolk coastline to complete either a 24 mile or 24 kilometre walk for the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA). This is the first time EAAA have held the Trek 24 event – designed to raise awareness and funds for the charity’s mission to fly 24/7 from the end of next year.
The Trek 24 event is expected to raise over £70,000 for the charity, which needs to raise an additional £1 million each year (bringing the total funds needed to £13 million a year) in order to develop and deliver a 24 hour helicopter emergency service in East Anglia.
Taking in the stunning Norfolk coastline, 123 people braved the longer walk, from West Runton to Holkham Hall, over Beeston Bump and along a great distance of shingle, which made this walk especially challenging.
Among the 24 mile trekkers were several former EAAA patients and EAAA Critical Care Paramedic, Rod Wells. Some 24 mile participants even chose to run the route, or run a mile then walk a mile. On average, it took the 24 milers eight hours to walk the 24 mile route, including stopping for breaks.