Prior to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Darlington Building Society held earlier this year, Society staff were asked to nominate a charity to be a beneficiary of the incentive scheme which encourages Society members to vote.
One of the three charities chosen was the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS). The GNAAS is responsible for the operation of air ambulance cover across the Northern region from the borders of Scotland down to North Yorkshire and from coast to coast.
The Society was able to donate the sum of £1,095.40 to GNAAS.
Kayleigh Turner, office manager at the Society’s Northallerton branch met up with the GNAAS team to formally hand over the cheque. She said: “At Darlington Building Society we really appreciate the vital service carried out by the GNAAS.
“The importance of this organisation is mirrored by the commitment and dedication of the GNAAS pilots and paramedics. It was pleasing therefore that the Society was able to raise over £1,000 to support their work.”
Kevin Hodgson, director of operations at GNAAS, said: “We are hugely grateful to Darlington Building Society for its continuing and generous support.
“Running a service of this type is vital but expensive and the GNAAS does not receive any Government or National Lottery funding. We rely on the kind of fundraising Darlington Building Society has provided over the years in order to continue our life-saving work.”
It costs somewhere in the region of £2,500 per flying mission. This figure takes into account the cost of the aircraft, its storage and fuel, paying the pilots and the paramedics, the medicine and other equipment.