A GROUP of friends, nicknamed the Abersoch 60, have raised over £26,000 over the last 12 years for the Wales Air Ambulance Charity.
Most of them met through their love of sailing and are members of the South Caernarfonshire Yacht Club.
70-year-old Andrea Holland said: “We don’t organise a big fundraising event. It is simple really; we just donate as a group to a fund which we set up in aid of the Charity.
“The club first started in 2013. My husband and a friend, Jane Sproston, set it up and I took over four years ago.
“Since then, we have raised anything from £2,000 to just over £1,700 a year.”
The Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and, if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.
It is delivered via a unique third sector and public sector partnership. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on public donations to raise the £11.2 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.
The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.
This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.
As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency lifesaving care.
Andrea said: “The air ambulance is a necessity and the fact it brings the A and E department to us is fantastic.
“Two members of our group have needed the lifesaving service. Without its help, their outcomes could have been tragic.
Andrea and her husband Brian first started sailing together fifty years ago. She said: “We started with small dinghies but now love sailing our Pandora boat.”
She continued: “There is always a risk when you are at sea, so we are always grateful that the RNLI are on hand. If you need immediate hospital-standard care, wherever you are, you are really relying on the air ambulance being able to attend to you.”
Andrea added: “That’s why, as a group of friends, we are so keen to fundraise for the Charity. Many of us live locally, and those that don’t have holiday homes here and still want to donate.”
Members of the Abersoch 60 recently handed over a cheque for £1,707 to the Charity’s Regional Fundraising Manager, Elaine Orr.
Andrea said: “We love cheque presentation day! It always feels amazing to be able to give the money to the air ambulance and know that it is making a difference.
“Elaine is now organising for our group to meet the clinicians and see the helicopter.”
Elaine Orr said: “It’s fantastic that such a simple idea has helped raise an incredible amount for Wales Air Ambulance.
“We are hugely grateful to the Abersoch 60 for their kind donation each year. Their generosity will have helped save lives.
“Our team are looking forward to welcoming Andrea and her friends to our base, where they will get a behind-the-scenes view of what we do.”
