It’s never too soon to plan your New Year’s Resolution (please don’t throw things at the screen, it could only damage your machine!) so why not consider taking part in this marvellous event in support of HIOWAA? Not fit enough yet? Well at least this announcement would give you plenty of time to get in to really good condition, and who knows, with all that training, you could be first past the finishing line!

BUPA London 10,000 (10k) Run   27th May 2012 Start time:  11 a.m.

We now have 18 guaranteed places for the 2012 BUPA London 10,000 (we’ve already had two entrants) and would love for you to join our team!   Organised by the London Marathon, the London BUPA 10,000 is a 10k following part of the 2012 Olympic marathon circuit through central London passing landmarks including Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, The London Eye and St. Paul’s Cathedral.  Whether you are an aspiring marathon runner, a budding athlete, or simply looking for a new challenge, this fantastic 10K run promises to be unforgettable!

 How we will support you:

  • Training and motivational tips 

  • Training support and advice from realbuzz.com

  • Fundraising advice and tips 

  • A great HIOWAA running vest to wear with pride.

 How much do I need to raise?   The minimum sponsorship amount is £300 please, which includes a £25 non-refundable registration fee.   You can register and pay your registration on-line here.  Please note that you cannot be entered into the event until the registration fee has been paid.   For further information please either email june@hiow-airmabulance.org.uk or phone June on 07966 017236

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is always on the look out for ways in which our supporters can fundraise or donate easily to us. We have a Just Giving Page, a Just Text Giving scheme and Paypal accounts as well as our in house lottery, Give A Car and textile recycling scheme. Now we have another way for you to donate easily! We have joined Virgin Money Giving. You can now fundraise or donate to us through our Virgin Money Giving page.

You can visit the page at:    http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/hiow-airambulance 

Virgin Money Giving is a non-profit organisation so does not charge the charity processing fees – meaning all the money raised helps to keep this life saving service flying.

As ever thank you for your support.

It is with regret that we must inform you all that we have taken the decision to cancel this year's HIOWAA Annual Golf Day.  As you know, the event was to be held once again at Dunwood Manor Golf Club at Awbridge near Romsey, but changes which are about to take place within the golf club have meant that the golf day is not now possible.  All entry fees which have already been paid are being returned to the teams, and we are already working on a new venue for next year's HIOWAA Annual Golf Day.  Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you at the HIOWAA Annual Golf Day in 2012.

Roger

Never the easiest topic to talk about, but if a Will hasn’t been made, it can cause countless problems to families. Lamb Brooks, Solicitors, Basingstoke, who, as well as having generously sponsored the medals for ‘Run For It!’ have now offered further support to HIOWAA.   During September and October, Lamb Brooks are offering a 10% discount on its Will drafting services to those leaving gifts to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. For more information please contact Louise Ervin on 01256 305508,  Lamb Brooks,Victoria House, 39 Winchester Street, Basingstoke,  Hampshire RG21 7EQ.

June

40 entrants gathered at Thruxton Circuit on Sunday morning to run the 2.4 miles around the track.  Nadine Hawkes, one of our volunteers, got everybody stretching before the run and Laura Entwistle, Miss UK Uinited Nations, and Pat and Vicki, two of the HIOWAA paramedics, kindly started the race off!   It seemed that no sooner had the tape dropped for the start, than the lead runners were heading home!   Nearly everyone got home before the torrent of rain came down! Everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves, and a good response was received when asked if they would come back next year.    Many thanks to all the entrants for taking part in this inaugural run, your support was greatly appreciated.

Great support was given by BARC Thruxton; Andover Sound; Southern Water; Lamb Brooks; Bookers – Eastleigh and Basingstoke;  Fyffes Bananas and The Darby Family/Raynet, to whom we are very grateful.

The event couldn’t have happened without the marvellous support from volunteers and staff, so many thanks to you all.

June

This year's summer event season has been busier than ever for our hard working team of volunteers and staff members.  Having attended a number of the shows myself this summer, I appreiciate how much effort goes into making our HIOWAA stand look so good and work so well.  Other people have appreciated this also, because this year we have won two awards for our stand.  We were chosen as the best trade stand in our class at the New Forest Show, and at the Romsey Show we won the Renault Southampton Cup for the most attractive and well laid out charity stand.  We are very proud of both these awards, and I should like to thank all our wonderful volunteers who helped at these, and the other summer events, for all that you did to make them such a success. My thanks to you all, we couldn't do it without you.  Let's see what we can achieve between us next year.

Sherie

Our very first Fun Run takes place at Thruxton Circuit on 11th September.   The distance is approximately 2.5 miles and you don’t even have to run it!  You can jog, walk, or use a mobility scooter (if that’s your usual way of getting about).  This event is open to all charities, so if your friends support different charities, they can still take part and raise money for their favourite charity too.

There are only a few days left to register for this fun event if you want to register on line,  but you can register on the day, so why not come along, with friends and family.

To enter:  You will need to pay an entry fee at the time of registration. You can register and pay on line here

Everyone who completes the course will receive a medal!  For further information, please telephone 07966 017236

June

First off a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who helped and supported us in our “Bike Ride” and to everyone who has so far made a donation!   But for all you out there who have any doubts about the 3 Amigos completing the ride you may like to look at the following links:  http://tbkexecutivecars.co.uk/billsblog.php

We are a long way off our target so PLEASE  make that donation you have been promising yourself to make!

http://www.justgiving.com/billjondom/

Thank You.   Bill, Jonathan, Dominic, Wayne and John

It is now getting even easier to show your support for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance with these fantastic goodies, now at even more tempting prices. We love you all showing your support for your Air Ambulance by buying our merchandise, so we’ve made it even easier for you!

With the new term looming around the corner, what about our yellow water bottles – they were originally £2.50 – they are now just £1.50. Perfect partners to lunch boxes for children and adults alike. 

How about our amazing Pat the Paramedic rag dolls, or our beautiful model die cast yellow helicopters? Both were £10 each, now only £5.99 each.  

Click on the store tab above to see all our fantastic merchandise!

Kirsty

Foxy Hunters have raised more vital funds for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.  It may have been a wet day, but nothing could take the smiles off the team at Thruxton when David Betteridge, of DHB photography went to the Airbase to present John Perry and the team with a cheque for £3,500.

This amazing total was raised through the sales of David’s ‘Foxy Hunter Calendar’ which has an equestrian theme – with a twist!  David and all of the beautiful models give up their time to shoot the calendar, and all the location are used free of charge which means all of the money raised from sales is donated straight to David’s chosen Charities – Help for Heroes, Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.   When presenting the cheque David said 'The initial idea was to raise funds for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, which plays such a vital role for local Horse riders. After canvassing the opinion of those involved it was decided to add a national aspect to the fund raising by also supporting Help for Heroes. When a friend’s life was saved by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Crew following a riding accident the project became even more important and very personal'

John Perry, CEO of HIOWAA said 'This is the second year David and the Foxy Hunters Calendar have donated to us. The donations really are fantastic. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Charity relies on the generosity of individuals and organisations such as David and his calendar, to help save lives across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight'    The shoots for the 2012 calendar have already been completed and it will shortly be on sale at http://www.foxyhunters.co.uk/ 

Please note: Neither this calendar nor Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance are in support of fox hunting – it is just a name for this fantastic fundraising scheme!

Kirsty

HIOWAA has become Sainsbury’s Supermarket – Lords Hill, Charity Partner!   They have a lot planned to raise money and awareness for the charity. Keep an eye on both our blog and events page to get involved.  A couple of the events, which are being finalised will include the airframe of the original Air Ambulance being present at the store for a couple of days during the half term and fundraising event during the Christmas period.    The fundraising team at Lordshill are very keen to promote the recycling of clothes and textile, which brings in an average of £25,000 a month.  So we are hoping to have dates in the diary for their customers to bring in certain items. 

We are very grateful to Sainsbury’s for choosing us, as I always harp on, we really cannot keep this service operational without the public’s 100% support, and it cost £110,000 a month to do so.   So if you have any ideas to help Sainsbury’s have a successful  year, perhaps you have a choir that could sing some Carols over Christmas, or have some artwork you would like to donate for sale in the store then drop us an email or give us a call on 02380 333377

Rosemarie

The RAF Odiham Motorcycle Club recently held a raffle at their summer track event, which was held at Cadwell Park race circuit in Lincolnshire, to raise money for HIOWAA.   HIOWAA were delighted to have been invited to have the pod, and stand, at the RAF Odiham Families Day, which was held on 10 August, where there were incredible air displays, including parachuting, going on throughout the day, and where we received marvellous support.    The Odiham Motorcycle Club raised the marvellous amount of £1500 from their raffle, for which we are extremely grateful. This super cheque was recently handed over to HIOWAA at the Thruxton Air Base. Many thanks to everyone involved in supporting the raffle.

June

One Sunday in July saw the streets of New Milton turned into a Grand Prix Circuit, but the roar of the petrol engine was missing as the event was the annual Pedal Car Grand Prix. This was the 4th time this event had been held in New Milton and proved to be a great attraction.

Many teams entered raising valuable funds for many charities, among these was a team supporting the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.     The Team of Peter Webb, Tom Baley, Paul Litlefair, Steve Small and Matt Post battled the course and in doing so raised the magnificent sum of £ 1,200 for the charity.

A huge thank you to them for their fantastic efforts.

Roger

The Three Amigos arrived safely - but very wet after a sudden torrential rainfall - at Popham Airfield, Nr Winchester, on Sunday morning, where they finished their epic120 mile cycle ride from Warwickshire to Hampshire, to raise money for HIOWAA.

Many thanks and well done to Bill, Dom and Jonathan for braving the elements in support of HIOWAA, it really is greatly appreciated, and we hope that by now you have dried out, and are having a well deserved rest!

June

Come along to our community Fun Day and Motorcycle Ride Out to raise funds for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.  Friday 3rd- Sunday 4th Sept at Purbrook Park school  PO7 5JB, rear entrance via The Brow, Widley near Portsmouth.  Camping  from 3pm Friday -12.00 Sunday £ 7.50 per unit per night , showers and toilets on site,   Live music Friday night ,  Disco. Refreshments.

Saturday Fun Day.   Lord Mayor of Havant and Waterlooville to start the Ride out  at 1200. 90 mile round trip with pit stop.  Visit by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance ( operations permitting) meet the crew , Heart Radio Angles, lot of stalls , cream teas , 4x4s  Motor cycle static displays, trade stands , Fire, Police, Ambulance and Coastguards' on display.  Refreshments'  live music  Saturday night until 11pm.   Please bring your old bra's and shoes as there's a collection point on site.

Sunday. Bacon Rolls, tea and coffee from 9.00 am  site closes 1200.  For more details contact  ride4rescue2011@yahoo.co.uk  or Facebook  ride4rescue2011, or mobile 07751106576.   Please support you Air Ambulance. 

The 3 Amigos, Bill, Jonathan and Dominic Leary, the team that brought you a death defying jump, 3500 ft above the earth from the largest flying bi-plane in the world, offer you their next challenge. Now, firmly back on terra firma, under the power of their own pistons of flesh they will be cycling 120 miles from the county of Warwickshire to Hampshire to raise funds for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

On Sunday 21st August, Popham Airfield is hosting a Mega Motorcycle and Family Day where volunteers will be shaking their buckets, drumming up donations to boost funds for the Hants and IOW Air Ambulance.   This time the team including 2 additional riders and support crew have decided to ride from Wellesbourne airfield nr Warwick to Popham Airfield Hants culminating on Sunday 21st August where a cavalcade of motorbiker`s will escort them to the finish.  

The reason the 3 amigos have chosen this particular charity, is Bill (56), Jonathan (26) and Dom (40) were all born in Basingstoke and even though they are now spread all over the country (By way of their last parachute Jump) they want to give something back to their home county.      Thank you for all your support.

Bill, Jonathan, Dominic and the rest of the TEAM!   You can go online to make your donation here:  http://www.justgiving.com/billjondom/

If you would like to view their last silly thing they did: http://www.youtube.com/user/an2pilot69#p/u/8/3jRyRU5xqWg

This year’s BAB Day was another great success, and so far this year over 18,000 bras have been donated, which is marvellous news.   Bras have been sent in from as far away as New Zealand, but ‘Bag-A-Bra has now crossed the Atlantic to America!

Pampered Passions Fine Lingerie, who are based in Ohio but have global internet customers, approached HIOWAA to offer their support!  Four times a year, Pampered Passions will package up and ship across to the UK – at no charge at all to HIOWAA – used bras that they have received through their own appeal.

We are extremely grateful to Alicia Vargo, CEO of Pampered Passions for deciding to help our appeal, it really is greatly appreciated.  To find out more about the company, please visit http://www.pamperedpassions.com

Portsmouth Motor Cycling Racing Club's Iron Man Challenge has raised £ 4000 for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.    A huge thank you to Shane Babey and all the members of the Portsmouth Motor Cycling Racing Club for their donation to the charity following on from their ‘Iron Man Challenge’ held earlier in the year.

This is the second year that the club has made such a generous donation to the charity and I was delighted to attend their latest event, meet some of the many members and to receive the very generous cheque.

A huge thank you to you all.

Roger

After working with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance for the last year and a half, Catherine McLellan, our Accounts Administrator, is moving on to a new post. Known fondly in the office as Kitty, Catherine has rejuvenated our Accounts department and ensured that everything runs smoothly and professionally. In addition to her excellent work with the Charity’s accounts, Catherine has attended events, including last years “Walking On Water” as part of the Head Office Team (we lost!) and she looked stunning at our Mad Hatter's Spring Ball. Catherine seems to have the ability to make it rain every time she goes camping but is always happy and laughing!

We will all miss her at the Charity, but we wish her well in her new position. 

Taking over from Kitty is Trudy Spikesman.  A self confessed “geek”, Trudy loves everything to do with accounting, systems and the internet.  Her passion lies in seeing people and businesses achieve real results, in having a hand in smoothing the bumps and easing the road to success.  As well as her work with the charity, Trudy also runs her own business services company supporting start-ups and small businesses in setting up and maintaining their back office functions. Trudy is a keen Volkswagen enthusiast and has restored a number of old VWs (beetles, campers and a pickup truck), her favourite being a bright red soft top baja called “Pete”!    We are very excited to have Trudy working with us and look forward to introducing her to the HIOWAA Family.

Hundreds of people at last weekend’s Bygone Days event held at the old RAF Ibsley site to the north of Ringwood had the opportunity to meet the pilot and two paramedics as the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance visited the show for the Sunday afternoon.

The crew of Pilot Stu Mayor and Paramedics Fraser Rowbotham and Chris Tate were able to show off the aircraft at the event and also joined the crowd to watch some of the air display including a fantastic show from the Mark 9 Spitfire – ‘Spirit of Kent’.    It was great that the crowd of supporters could see our aircraft and crew in such fine company.

Roger

Image courtesy of David Quinney

Just Giving (a brilliant website which allows you to donate or gather sponsorship online) has recently announced that they have a new scheme called Just Text Giving. This partnership with Vodafone will allow supporters to donate a certain amount of money just by sending a text message at no additional cost to the charity or the donor.  

To send Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance a donation via text message simply type HIOW44 and the donation you want to send into your message.  For example if you want to donate £5 you type HIOW44£5 (no spaces please). You can choose to donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 and can donate up to £30 a month.  You then send this message to 70070 and the donation comes to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. 

You will get a text message reply confirming your donation and giving you a link to a Gift Aid Form. By completing this form (either by using your phone or going to the website on a computer) we will get an additional 25p for every pound you give us.  An additional benefit to this system is there is no added cost to you, the donors, as users of all UK service providers aren’t charged a text message or admin fee. 

So whether you are sponsoring someone or just want to make a donation – why not get your phones out and start texting to keep YOUR Air Ambulance flying & saving lives.

Kirsty

Summer is here and the School holidays are fast approaching – Why not treat your children, whatever age, to our exclusive Pat the Paramedic – This summers’ bargain at just £7.50 – Reduced from £10.00. (While stocks last!)

Pat the Paramedic is a 14” cuddly friend for children of all ages. He is wearing his red flying suit, which shows our logo on the back, and his flight helmet, complete with microphone so he can hear what the pilot is telling him. Children will love this Air Ambulance Paramedic soft toy, unique to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. 

Please Note:- Contains polyester fibers and plastic pellets. 

Buy him now at this amazing, summer price of £7.50 – Why not even be organised and buy in advance of Christmas! Pat will make an ideal gift to children or adults! A gift that will make you smile!

Click the store link at the top of our website and get your orders in now! 

Ray.

Such is the growth of both the charity and our operations that we quite frequently celebrate milestones of achievement but today we celebrate three-in-one.   We mark our 4th birthday of operational flying on 1st July, have just flown the 3,000th mission and on 20th June we started flying 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the summer period, which will significantly increase our capacity and potential to save lives and to quickly get high quality medical treatment to patients in need before, where appropriate, transferring them to hospital.  

I am immensely proud of the Charity and pay a very warm tribute to all who work so hard for us, from our wonderful aircrew, through the staff at HQ to the ever increasing army of volunteers who are out there week after week raising both our profile and the funds essential to keep us flying; well done to each and every one.   I pay special thanks to the literally thousands of Hampshire and Isle of Wight people who regularly support us through their generous donations; without them, we are nothing.

Cllr Barry Lipscomb.  Chairman of Trustees

Wow, what a weekend, some fantastic running, some inspirational performances and great fun, mixed with trepidation.

Friday evening the competitors started arriving at Cowes High School.  Belongings we hauled into the sports hall, mattresses brought in and settled down for the night in readiness for the coming weekend.  Saturday morning arrived there were 3 starts, 0800, 0900, 1000 from East Cowes floating bridge.

0715 hrs we had our briefing.  0740 hrs with our running gear on, camel back filled to the brim with lucozade liquid, saw us walking down from the school to the floating bridge.We were crossing on the bridge, various thoughts, not done anything like this before, I was heading into the unknown. How was my body going to respond to the distance? What part was going to give up first? Have I any chance of completing this? I was sure by now that I had not done enough training, my furthest run being 18.2 miles with Matt about 5 weeks ago. I should have put more hours in, I should have gone further. What am I really doing here?  The prow went down, we were off, well, we stopped immediately, took a couple of photographs for the air ambulance, watching the other competitors running off down the road.  Read more about our experience here

Paul Spreadbury

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance are working closely with HELP to enable a unique project to equip Southampton General Hospital with a purpose-built life-saving helipad. Up until now, emergency airlifts have had to stop short of the hospital - the best the Air Ambulance could do was to touch down in a council field in Lordshill at least two miles from A & E. The Helicopter Landing Pads Appeal (HELP) aims to spare the gravely ill and injured the transfer of anything up to thirty more minutes by road, by building a brand new landing deck on top of the multi-storey car park in the north-west corner of the hospital campus at a cost of over £1 million. Construction is already underway and, once it’s complete, trauma patients will be airlifted straight to Southampton General landing just seconds away from where skilled surgeons will be waiting. Since nothing is more critical than time in serious accidents and medical emergencies, the helipad will dramatically improve the chances for many of those whose lives depend on getting urgent help more quickly. “In the ‘golden hour’ after an accident or a sudden illness, the difference is often a fast flying helicopter that reaches those in distress sooner and gets back to A & E quickly enough to give them the best possible chance of survival”. So says Dr David Sutton, Consultant at Southampton University Hospital Trust who is backing the ambitious plan.  More information is available at www.helpappeal.co.uk. 

You can read more information about the Helipad here

What a section that was!! Unfortunately we haven't got many pictures of this as most of the time we were walking in the pitch black! The only good one I got was of a red sky over Pen yr Ole Wen. I say most, only the first two hours had day light the rest was done in the dark. Seven peaks in the dark!! Probably foolish of us to attempt it, but we did and we made it to everyone. In what time I hear you ask, well it was well within the 24 hours but we have a differing opinion between Scott and Darren as to the exact time .  Despite the fact that my legs ache from walking, my arms ache from climbing, my back aches from carrying that ruck sack and even my mind aches from having to constantly think about where to put my feet. I feel fantastic!! You could even stick pins in my eyes right now and my overwelming sense of achievement would block out that pain. Nothing in life could ever prepare me for the emotions that are washing over me right now. These people I've been walking with are truely amazing. Whenever anyone needed a lift, physically or emotionally, everyone else would give that help, not only willingly but also unconditionally. I'm so glad I had the oportunity to share this experience with these people. I for one will carry this in my heart to the end of my days. People will tire of me talking about how amazing this experience has been, but I never will (of course, some things stay on the mountain :-)).

I have no recollection of how hard or easy that section was, but some how we got to the end.  I hope you've enjoyed reading these emails as much as I've enjoyed the walk. Catch up with you all soon.

Mark

That was hard work!! After a relentlessly unforgiving trudge through bogs and shingle, then through a bleak bolder strewn landscape we finally reached the peak of Elidir Fawr, but what a view when you get there! At least we would have done if we hadn't been walking in cloud again. You can normally see for miles. If you look west you can usually see the Irish sea and Anglesea look south and it’s mid Wales with all it's country side, east gives you a spectacular view of Snowdon. Turning north (You can spend a lot of time spinning on this mountain) and you can see the four monsters that we were yet to climb, with Tryfan in the far background almost beckoning like a big bully as if to say “come on then, let’s see what you’ve got”.

The walk out from Elidir Flawr is quite pleasant and very welcome and leads us up to Y Garn, a fairly uninspiring mountain except a few areas that have sheer drops (300 meters) where the goats like to play and the beautiful views over Lyn Ogwyn, in the background is the daunting view of the Carneddau (our last section).

The next three peaks Y Garn, Glider fawr and glider Fachs were just bolder fields, it's as if  a couple of very drunk people have had a few very unsuccesful games of super giant Jenga, but the views off the ridges are pretty good. Finally we reached the summit of Tryfan. Who said this was supposed to be the daddy of the Glyder section? We tamed this little bump with consumate ease after all "doesn't Tryfan know who we are?"..........if you believe that you'll believe anything. 

Morning all, here we are at the start of our challenge. It’s a bit chilly and a little damp but I’m sure we’ll warm up during our 2 hour climb to the top of Crib Goch. There’s a lot of tension in the air, mainly, I think, due to the cake off!! For those of you who don’t know there is a ‘side bet’ to the challenge – everyone has been allocated 1 of the 15 mountains and they have to provide a mystery cake at the summit. The person who provides the best cake wins a prize.............a cake(obviously)!!

In late 2010, as a team we decided to try the Welsh 3000s challenge in June 2011.  As the challenge rapidly approaches and training reaches it's conclusion, we’re wondering why that was ever a good idea.  

On the 23rd of June, a team of 11 climbers and our 2 support team will embark on the daunting Welsh 3000s challenge in North Wales.  In order to complete the Welsh 3000s Challenge we will need to have been at the top of all 15 of the mountains over 3000 ft in Wales within the space of 24 hours and all on foot.  The length is about 24 miles, but the walks to the start point and down from the finish point can take it to over 30 miles in total. A total ascent and descent of over 13000ft is also part of the fun! The challenge starts on top of the first peak and ends on the top of the final peak when our feet, legs and lungs have been taken to their limit.

The team this year are: Roisin Speight, Rachel Welland, Kate Boyle, Sara Glide, Mark Butler, Darren Blake, Dave Newman, Gill Newman, Tim North, Scott Ramsay, Ian Willmott, Paul Hollis myself Paul Tong.

Please show your support by going on to http://www.justgiving.com/3S-Welsh3000s  To find out more about the event http://www.welsh3000s.co.uk/ 

Paul Tong

Three police officer on the Isle of Wight have decided that they are going to enter an event named “ Round the Island” on June 25th & 26th 2011, and comes under the type of run as “Multistage Ultra”. This event consists of running round the island covering 70 miles in 2 days. They will be running together as a team to cover 38 miles on the Saturday and 32 on the Sunday. This is just over 2 marathons in distance. 

They decided to choose Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance charity to raise money for as they have noticed the increase of the Helicopter on the Island. 

On the first day they start at East Cowes and make their way to Brightstone via Ryde, Seaview, they will pass the HM Coast Guard Station in Bembridge then on to Shanklin finishing in Brightstone.    On Sunday their route will continue (after, I hope, a good night’s sleep) from Freshwater cost for their route Brighstone to West Cowes.  With their first challenge of the day being Tennyson’s Down up to the monument, finishing at Cowes High School, after passing the “Sportsman’s Rest” public house!!!

The charity wishes them best of luck and will be there to wish them on the way. Please take a look at the events website find out more information.   http://www.xnrg.co.uk/events_roundtheisland2011.htm  and you can support them on Just Giving here

Rosemarie

Next week is recycle week and HIOWAA is working with a number of councils across Hampshire to promote the recycling message through the textile recycling scheme with charity partners Bag It Up ltd. Throughout the week schools in Hampshire are getting involved and collecting textiles to support their local Air Ambulance and prevent items going to landfill.

Various promotional events will be on throughout the week including a shoe collection in Southampton - please bring your unwanted shoes to the Guildhall Square and see the POD for yourself - a replica of a real air ambulance. In Portsmouth the POD will be at Commercial Road (next to Debenhams) on the 21st June, or to Palmerston Road, Portsmouth on the 23rd June - please do come and say hello if you are in the area

You can support HIOWAA all year round by donating your unwanted textiles or shoes to one of our 300 clothing banks across Hampshire & The Isle of Wight - go to www.bagitup.org.uk to find your nearest bank.

Well, summer is nearly here, and we are all hoping for another beautiful one. Make sure that you are prepared for lots of fun, by stocking up on your Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance goodies. We have baseball hats and drinking bottles to keep you cool, fabric Frisbees (aka flings) for lots of outdoor fun, plus model helicopters and woodcraft kits if the weather isn’t all we hoped it to be! Why not support HIOWAA on your holiday with our green t-shirts and hessian bags to carry all the essentials to the beach! With all this and so much more available, why not visit our online shop by selecting the ‘store’ tab above, or by clicking here and start shopping!

Happy Summer!

Kirsty

Bag a Bra Day 2011 has come around so quickly, it seems no time since we were telling everyone what a fantastic number of bras had been collected last year, and this year we have already exceeded that total of 10,000 bras.  So many groups, companies and individuals have got involved and arranged all sorts of clever ways to collect the bras,  such as the Colden Common WI who delivered theirs to HIOWAA in a decorated Veolia truck!  We are just amazed at the popularity of this campaign, which not only raises vital funds for the Air Ambulance, but helps less privileged women in Africa to be able to afford bras.  Bras have come to us from all over the country, and even as far away as New Zealand!

Thank you ladies for all your 'support' and let's do it again next year.

June

Did you know there are only 24 hours left for you to nominate your favourite charity to be the local Sainsbury's Charity Partner? You can go to any Sainsbury's store and fill in a nomination form like this one, and add your vote for your favourite charity.  So why not visit Sainsbury's now and make sure your vote counts.

Sherie