Great North Air Ambulance Service

A local school near Carlisle has continued the charitable work carried out by one of their teaching assistants who sadly passed away just before Christmas.

Since 2006, Fir Ends Primary School in Smithfield, Cumbria, has been supporting the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) by hosting collections of unwanted clothing.

The clothing is collected and recycled by GNAAS’ Trading Company, with the money generated from the sales of the clothing reinvested back into the charity.

The collections at Fir Ends Primary School are organised by the parents, teachers, and friends of the school. Often a cattle trailer will be parked up before the day of the collection, and the school helps to publicise it and distribute the bags.

The school aims to have a collection three times a year, and usually fills the full van with clothing donations, which raises between £200-£300.

In recent years Angie Smith, one of the school’s teaching assistants, who was described as a “passionate cheerleader for various charities” took on coordination duties.

Sadly, she died suddenly before Christmas in 2023 and now the baton has been passed onto the wider group, with their most recent collection accumulating 1,244kg of clothing.

Daryl Spencer, headteacher at Fir Ends Primary School said: “Angie had a lot of charities that she would fundraise for, but she particularly enjoyed the air ambulance collections - it was an ideal opportunity to catch up for a chat with everyone in the wider community when they were dropping off.

“Apart from bustling about, marshalling cars, helping to empty boots and greeting the van when it arrived, she kept a spreadsheet of collection tallies and an excited email trail usually followed every collection. She took great pride in the success of 'her' collections and was the person who decided that we could probably fill three vans a year, and she was right.

“The collections will now act as one of the (many) moments in the year when memories of Angie, and her contributions within the local area, will be close to people's thoughts.”

The school has raised thousands of pounds over the years and was treated to a flypast by GNAAS’ newest helicopter Pride of Cumbria II in April 2021, before it started operating at the charity’s base in Langwathby, near Penrith.

Mr Spencer added: “In a rural community like ours, the value of the air ambulance is appreciated, particularly by those whose work involves being in remote areas that a normal ambulance would be unable to reach. Many people within our community know or know of someone who has needed it. Because of this, the collections are always well-supported.

“The collections also bring together the whole community at key points in the calendar. The chance meetups with old faces from the school community - and beyond it - also mean that there's a sense of community amongst everyone who drops off bags. The money raised is useful, but really it's that thread that links and sustains our school community through contribution to a shared goal that keeps our collection going.

“Arranging collections is easy to do - and it's something that's easy for a lot of people to contribute to since most of us have clothes we don't wear or need any more. One bag from everyone soon adds up.”

The Trading Company offer their collection service Monday to Friday, which allows people to book in a collection at a pre-arranged date and time.

This service is available across the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria and can be booked by filling out a short form on their website: https://www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/support-us/fundraising/recycle/clothing-collections/enquiry/

Alternatively, supporters can book a collection via GNAAS’ Facebook page facebook.com/GNairambulance, or by calling 01325 308 139.

Donations can also be dropped off on-site at GNAAS’ headquarters in the North East, which is Progress House, Urlay Nook Road, Eaglescliffe, TS16 0QB.

About GNAAS

• The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is a charitably funded air ambulance service which provides life-saving care throughout the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Isle of Man.
  
• They operate two helicopters 365 days a year and also operate a night-time service in the North East and Cumbria on rapid response vehicles.
  
  
• The aircraft cover an area of more than 8,000 square miles and on board are specialist doctors and paramedics who effectively bring the hospital to the patient.
  
  
• The level of skill and expertise of the on-board team mean they respond to the most critically ill and injured people, giving them the best chance of survival.
  
  
• GNAAS is a progressive organisation which has pioneered pre-hospital care in the region.
  
• The latest techniques, equipment and drugs are constantly being evaluated to ensure the charity can provide the best care possible for their patients.
  
  
• 2022 marked the service providing 20 years of life-saving care. Throughout this time, they have responded to more than 23,500 incidents across the region, with road traffic collisions being the most frequent type of incident responded to by the team.
  
  
• They do not receive Government funding and must therefore raise £8.5m a year through public donations to remain operational.