A charity hoping to raise £6million for a new Aberdeen-based helimed has appointed a north-east woman to lead efforts to raise the cash.
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) has hired Kate Loades as its community fundraiser for the north.
Her first job will be aiding the charity in meeting its hefty £6m target ahead of its new helicopter taking off for missions at the end of March.
SCAA has currently raised around half of the required total to keep the EC135 T2E in the air for the first three years of operations.
Thereafter, the charity will need to raise another £2m a year to remain a permanent fixture.
Ms Loades, 39, said: “It’s so great to be here right at the beginning.
“There are only a few months until Helimed 79 launches and there is so much excitement about this charity, which I feel really lucky to represent.
“It’s already been amazing to get out and meet people to find out what inspires them to support us, and I’m only a phone call away if anyone wants to speak.”
Local campaigners have already flocked to the cause, most notably with hundreds now collecting crisp packets to recycle in aid of the charity.
What started as one doctor’s attempts to raise awareness of SCAA’s expansion into the north-east has become a real contributor to fundraising efforts, despite the charity needing a million crisp bags to fund a single mission.
Ms Loades she can’t go anywhere without it being mentioned – and she is looking to capitalise on it.
She told The P&J: “We are going to save lives purely as a result of the crisp packets.
“We have already had crisp supporters coming through and now looking at different ways we can support us too.
“The impact it has had can already be seen– people are so excited to find out more about the charity having learned about it through the crisps.
“I think there is a lot going on out there which we aren’t even aware of yet – so it’s my job to try and capture all of that.”
The Aberdeen-based Helimed 79 will carry a crew of two paramedics to the most serious and traumatic medical incidents across the north-east and further afield when called upon by the ambulance control too.
SCAA will be based in a hangar at Aberdeen International Airport, next to Babcock’s main terminal.
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance has made a huge impact since 2013, saving lives and preventing suffering.
That is why the P&J campaigned successfully for SCAA’s second helicopter to be based in our region.
The countdown is now on for the aircraft – call sign Helimed 79 – to start flying missions from Aberdeen Airport.
But this is an emergency service that relies entirely on donations.
Each call-out costs about £2,500 and SCAA needs P&J readers to help hit its £6million target and get things off to a successful start.
So please do anything you can to raise those funds and show that We’re Backing Helimed 79.
Ways to donate to SCAA
Website: www.scaa.org.uk/donate
Text: Text ‘SCAA’ and the amount to 70085
Phone: 03001231111
Cheques: Made payable to ‘SCAA’ or ‘Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance’ and sent to: Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA), The Control Tower, Perth Airport, Scone, PH2 6PL
