CHARITY

Lian Locke of Lovat Parks visits Cornwall Air Ambulance

As a local lifesaving charity, Cornwall Air Ambulance carries out over 1,000 missions every year, bringing critical care to locals and visitors alike in their hour of need. With the mass influx of seasonal visitors Cornwall receives and the delays this causes on crucial trunk roads, the air ambulance can quite literally be the difference between life and death. 2021 has been no different with exceptionally high tourism numbers that caused a sudden increase in the need for Cornwall Air Ambulance. On just one day in August, the crew flew to 11 different incidents, 11 people who needed urgent lifesaving care and 11 families impacted. While around 15-20% of calls are to incidents involving visitors to Cornwall, less than 5% of donations come from the tourism sector. With the demand for its service set to increase year on year, the charity is calling on tourism businesses across Cornwall to get on board and generate more donations through their visitors, ensuring the crew can continue to save more lives and more time in the years to come. Cornwall Air Ambulance chief executive, Tim Bunting, says: “Illness and injury don’t discriminate, they can affect anyone at any time, visitor or local. Each year we are seeing a rising trend in missions during peak holiday seasons and the pressure on Cornwall Air Ambulance as a small local charity is mounting. Meeting this additional cost is very hard, so that’s why your support is needed now more than ever.” The charity is proud to work with several tourism businesses already who support in a number of different ways and is calling for more to follow their lead.

“We are delighted to be able to pledge our long-term support to Cornwall Air Ambulance. Our guests throughout our Cornish holiday parks, along with our teams, take pride in recognising the tireless hard work of each and every Cornwall Air Ambulance crew member. We are very grateful that they dedicate themselves to ensuring we can all enjoy safe holidays throughout the county.” Lian Locke, Lovat Parks

“We have always recognised the amazing work that Cornwall Air Ambulance do, but when we heard that over 15% of the charity’s lifesaving missions involved tourists in 2020, and yet less than 5% of donations come from the tourism sector, we really wanted to find a way to help in a more tangible way. We decided to donate 25% of every Cream Tea hamper we sell to our guests during the peak summer months. It’s been so successful and a great way to make it easy for tourists to donate, that we have decided to continue this as a long-term fundraising campaign for Cornwall Air Ambulance. It’s been lovely working with the team, who have been so supportive with anything we need to make it a success.” Emma and Rich, Lydcott Glamping, Looe There are a variety of ways that your business can show its support, from an optional booking donation, to holding fundraising events or simply displaying the charity’s promotional material. In return your business can experience some fantastic benefits from working with the local, lifesaving charity. As well as great brand association and depending on the level of support, you can expect PR, social media exposure and a visit to the airbase.

Email fundraising@cornwallairambulancetrust.org or call 01637 889926 for more information.

Emma and Rich of Lydcott Glamping