Covid-19 equipment boost for air ambulances thanks to Lions club donation
Air ambulances across the country will receive vital equipment to aid the Covid-19 response after donations from Lions clubs in Shropshire.
More than £160,000 was spent by the Lions Club International Foundation, working with Air Ambulances UK to compile a list of items needed by individual air ambulance charities.
The fundraising efforts included Lions clubs throughout the county, including in Bridgnorth, which has been serving the community since 1976.
George Lee, president of Bridgnorth Lions Club, said: “We know that air ambulance charities have been busier than ever during the coronavirus pandemic. They’ve faced considerable extra day-to-day costs at a time when lockdown has affected fundraising.
“Now, thanks to an emergency Covid-19 relief grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation, we can provide immediate support for this emergency service that touches lives in all our local communities.”
The equipment and supplies requested includes isolation capsules and decontamination units, separation screens, PPE, ventilators, respirators and hoods, a thermal screening camera and monitoring system, compression devices, fluid warmers, an ultrasound cardiac probe and mobile connectivity devices.
Heather Benjamin, chairman of Air Ambulances UK, said: “The donation of equipment and supplies by Lions helps air ambulance charities to support the Covid-19 response and their communities in these extraordinary times and beyond.”
The latest boost for air ambulance charities comes after £140,000 was awarded in grants to foodbanks and other causes nominated by Lions clubs across the country.
Lions Clubs’ council chairman, Stewart Sherman-Kahn, said: “We found that involvement in Covid-19 relief has affected fundraising and created considerable extra, unbudgeted day-to-day costs. So, working with Air Ambulances UK, we compiled a list of equipment and supplies requested by air ambulance charities themselves – totalling £161,468.
“During lockdown, Lions clubs have continued to help out in their local communities, and we’ve already given £140,000 in grants to foodbanks and other causes.”
Lions Clubs of the British Isles and Air Ambulance UK undertook research in May 2020 among air ambulance charities. It revealed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on fundraising income from community and corporate fundraising activities, closure of retail shops, and a decline in lottery playing and regular giving schemes.
There are 12,000 members in 615 Lions Clubs across the British Isles, which raised more than £9 million in 2019 to help those in need.
