Arthur Beattie & Caroline Johnston of the Larne Driving Instructors recently held a quiz night, with all proceeds being donated to Air Ambulance NI.
The event included a table quiz, live music, a raffle and auction and all attendees were treated to homemade pizza & BBQ.
Their fundraising efforts were greatly supported by the local community with a number of local businesses supporting the auction, raffle and refreshments for the evening.
Arthur said:
"It was a great privilege to present Air Ambulance NI with £2205, which was raised at our quiz night. This would not have been possible without the help and support from all our driving instructor colleagues, family and friends.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in our local community who attend our event – it was an amazing night! I would especially like to thank our quizmasters Jackson & Angela Currie, for their support and Graham’s Pizzas for kindly donating all products for fresh pizza.
"We had local musician Alan McKelvey there on the night to entertain our attendees and were delighted to see so many in attendance!"
Arthur added:
"We would like to thank the community for being so generous and supportive of our fundraising efforts - whether you provided sponsorship for our event or donated a raffle or auction prize, thank you! We thoroughly enjoyed hosting this event and feel it was huge success, raising £2,205 for our local Air Ambulance.
"You never know quite know when you will need the assistance of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service team and we appreciate the value this lifesaving service can bring to areas with extended travel times, for specialist emergency care.”
The Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) responds on average to 2 incidents daily, somewhere in Northern Ireland. Since the service first launched in July 2017, the HEMS has been tasked on over 3,093 occasions.
The charity Air Ambulance NI, in partnership with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, provides the HEMS for Northern Ireland. The HEMS team attend patients who are seriously ill or injured, bringing emergency pre hospital care direct to the casualty, with the aim of saving lives, brains and limbs.
Grace Williams, Area Fundraising Manager for Air Ambulance NI commented:
“Arthur, Caroline and their team are a real inspiration, organising this unique fundraising event in support of Air Ambulance NI; We are so delighted to they chose to support us in this way.
"As a service we rely heavily on charitable donations to keep the medical team in the air, delivering critical care to patients who have suffered trauma throughout Northern Ireland - without continued support, the team simply couldn’t fly. Every single penny counts.
"With a daily fundraising need of £5,500, we are so grateful to Arthur, Caroline and their team for this wonderful donation of £2,205. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their vital support and for organising such an amazing event!”
Air Ambulance NI needs to raise £2million each year to maintain this service so public donations are crucial. If you would like to support this life-saving service, there are a number of exciting upcoming events you can participate in including a abseils, Belfast City Marathon or you could organise your own event with the charity’s support.
Find out more and sign up to a challenge that suits you by visiting www.airambulanceni.org alternatively you can contact the charity directly by emailing info@airambulanceni.org or calling 028 9262 2677.