A LIFE-SAVING service is celebrating a decade since opening its first charity shop – during which it has raised over £5.5million from selling donated second-hand goods.
The Air Ambulance Service, which operates the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance among others, opened its first store in Rugby ten years ago today (Thursday November 19).
Since then, the charity has gone from strength to strength, adding a further 55 shops across the country – including two superstores – which have funded over 30,000 missions over the last ten years.
Deputy CEO Emma Peake said: “It is great to be celebrating our 10th anniversary in retail. Over the last decade our retail operations have made over £5.5million net profit for this lifesaving service and received over 850,000 donations.
“Our stores are filled with fabulous donations and things to buy, and while we have had to close during this difficult period, we really encourage people to still celebrate with us by shopping at our online outlets.”
Due to lockdown restrictions, the charity had to change its celebration plans, where former patient Guy Watt – who suffered multiple life-threatening injuries when his car hit a tree on the M45 near his Dunchurch home in 2014 – was due to attend his local Rugby store to show his appreciation and support.
He said: “The 10th anniversary of the air ambulance retail stores is a great milestone for the charity, all the staff and volunteers in-store make a huge difference in keeping the charity going.
“The stores provide an invaluable source of funding for this vital service, allowing them to keep attending lifesaving missions like mine – so, on behalf of the air ambulance patients, I’d like to say a big thank you to all of the charity’s retail team.”
The charity is celebrating its retail birthday with a variety of internal activities, thanking everyone who has helped reach the milestone – as well as an external drawing competition with its kid’s club #TheCrew, and special plans for when the stores reopen.
Emma added: “On behalf of the charity, I want to thank all of our supporters for their continued support over the last ten years – especially during these challenging times. We look forward to warmly welcoming everyone back in our stores as soon as we reopen.”
Visit https://theairambulanceservice.org.uk/shops/online to shop online with the Air Ambulance, or support the charity in other ways.
