Plymouth & South West Co-operative Society donates £145,650!

Added on: 3 September 2009

Customers of Plymouth & South West Co-operative Society have raised a grand total of £145,650 for Devon Air Ambulance by opting to donate their dividend points to the charity.

Every time a customer with a community card shopped in the food stores they would swipe their card and the total number of points collected, plus fundraising and monies from charity tins in-store, has raised £145,650 since the scheme was launched 6 years ago. As well as customers generously donating their points, staff also got involved and found a variety of ways to support the charity through mufti-days, bag packing, raffles and Christmas activities, all of which contributed to the total.

The latest cheque for £87,500 was handed over to Heléna Holt, Chief Executive of the Devon Air Ambulance Trust by Jill Blake, President, Plymouth & South West Co-operative Society, at the airbase that DAAT share with the Police Air Support Unit at Middlemoor in Exeter.

Jill Blake, President, Plymouth & South West Co-operative Society said ‘It is a fantastic achievement for the Society to have raised a total of £124,500 for Devon Air Ambulance Trust. This is the single biggest sum of money ever raised for a local charity and we are very proud that, prior to our merger with The Co-operative, our final fundraising effort has raised such a phenomenal amount for Devon Air Ambulance, which carries out crucial life-saving work in Devon and Cornwall.

As a co-operative we have a set of very important values & principles and we aim to demonstrate our commitment to our values of self-help, self responsibility, social responsibility, caring for others, as well as our principle of concern for the community. We are a co-operative with almost 150 years experience in this community and the community card is a fantastic example of co-operative working.’

Heléna Holt, Chief Executive of the Devon Air Ambulance Trust said ‘We are truly astounded and delighted at the generosity of the Plymouth & South West Co-operative Society and their customers. The amount raised is staggering.  We would like to thank them for their support of the charity.

She added ‘Putting it into real terms, this sum raised will have made a difference to over 120 patients, with, of course, a knock on effect to their family, friends and work colleagues!  Every penny raised and donated truly has made a huge difference to this essential lifesaving service.’

The community card has been running for 6 years and the Devon Air Ambulance Trust has previously received donations in the region of £37,000 from the Society, which have contributed towards essential equipment, such as a specialist trolley. Funded by the Society the inter-hospital rough terrain transfer trolley was co-designed and commissioned by the charity.  The unique trolley helps with the transfer of patients from the helicopter to the Emergency Department at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth. 

The Devon Air Ambulance Trust is the charity that raises funds to keep Devon's two Air Ambulances flying. Funding for the service is completely independent of central and local Government and is funded solely by voluntary donations and fundraising by local people and businesses. This means every single penny of the £4 million needed annually is raised by the community, businesses and friends of Devon Air Ambulance Trust, making Plymouth & South West Co-op’s contribution very important to their fundraising efforts.

Devon has two Air Ambulances, which fly over congested roads and traffic jams - 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. The chances of a patient’s recovery are increased with faster transfer to hospital and 50% of Devon can be reached by Air Ambulances within 5 minutes, with the remainder within 20 minutes.

The community card has now finished due to the forthcoming merger between Plymouth & South West Co-op and The Co-operative Group but there will be new ways customers can support local community groups that will be announced in The Co-operative food stores shortly.

Pictured are: Front: left to right: Adrian Parker (Paramedic), Eddie Bunday (Paramedic), Heléna Holt (Chief Executive DAAT) and Steve Rush (Pilot). Back: left to right: Douglas Fletcher (Chief Executive, Plymouth & South West Co-operative Society) Jill Blake (President, Plymouth & South West Co-operative Society) and Louise Lewis, Plymouth & South West Co-operative Society Vice President)

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