Sunday 10th Oct.  Walk the Test Way and raise vital funds for HIOWAA.  This is a well established walk, organised by the Rotary Club of Romsey Test which has raised over £65,000 in previous years for charities in the region.  Why not spend an enjoyable day with family and friends, enjoying the wonderful scenery of the Test Valley, whilst raising funds for your Air Ambulance.

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Good News. The vehicle which Hendy Hire have generously lent to HIOWAA for the summer events season has arrived.  

We are enormously grateful to Hendy Hire for this kind gesture, which will make running our events so much easier and more efficient.  You will be able to see the van on our stands at Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show, The New Forest Show, and Navy Days to name a few. Support such as this from local companies is so valuable to the charity, and we can't thank them enough.

Sherie

Last weekend, the 10th & 11th July, 6 intrepid ladies from Solution 4 Recruitment in Bishops Waltham set out to cycle 62 miles around the Isle of Wight, not only to raise funds for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance but also to collect bra’s for our Bag-a-Bra campaign.

The team are more used to finding jobs for PR, Marketing and Design specialists in the south, saddled up and cycled around various shops on the island who have been supporting the air ambulance’s Bag A Bra campaign. And there was only one way to carry the many bras they collected – draped on the bikes, worn by the cyclists themselves and even attached to their helmets, flapping in the breeze! 

Melanie from Solutions4 Recruitment said: “Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance are our chosen charity for the year and we have already raised over £1,000 for them. This is such an important cause for us and we want to shout about what we are doing to encourage others to see how important the Air Ambulance is and adopt them as their chosen charity.” 

Melanie adds, “HIOWAA first became important to me last year when a good friend fell off her horse and broke her back, she was in the middle of some woodland, a mile from the road. The speed of the Air Ambulance enabled her to get to hospital and be treated within a very short time frame.”

Well done to the ladies, and I understand there were some unusual donations along the way!  A fantastic effort.  Thank you.

Roger

Students from Southampton Solent University have donated over three tonnes of textiles to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance ‘Bag-It-Up’ scheme. This is our biggest single donation of textiles we have ever received!

Rather than just throwing away old clothes, towels and other textiles Southampton Solent University have collected unwanted items from their students on their own converted old milk float known as ‘Eco Ernie’.

This was sorted and ‘Bagged Up’ by a team of volunteers and donated to the charity.

Bag It Up’s Danielle Mugridge added: "This project is a fantastic way of involving students in the local community and helping raise funds for the life saving work of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Combined with this, the project addresses the importance of recycling and the diversion of tons of waste from the waste stream and landfill. 

Roger

I admit I have never been to a folk event. This was a lovely event, relaxed with great people. We were invited by one of the bands who were playing on Sunday night, Smoke and Mirrors. This band donated their fee to a charity  and one of the singers Sara had nominated the air ambulance. Myself, Kate and David, two of the Island volunteers, attended on Sunday during the day and listened to some fantastic music. I then returned later for the evening performance from the band. Becky, who plays the fiddle and other stringed instruments for the band, had also managed to organise a raffle with an acoustic guitar, donated by Strings on the Isle of Wight, along with a dinner for two at the New Homewood Hotel in Cowes. So I set myself outside (what a wonderful evening) and started to sell the tickets. I was so surprised by the crowd which kept coming up, with help from the band. We raised £242 from the raffle, the band donate £250 plus we had some money in our donation buckets. Thank you to all who attend and well done to the organisers for a great event. 

Rosemarie X

Saturday 10th July was ‘Support the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance’ day at Marks and Spencer’s and Sainsbury’s Hedge End. Using our star attraction the ‘POD’ a retired yellow Bolkow 105, (not all of it, the tail and rotors have been removed) and supported by a band of committed fund raisers the day commenced.

Shoppers we must thank you. Your support and generosity cannot go without comment. Without your financial support and interest we would not be flying or in a position to acquire our replacement and more advanced air ambulance in September 2010.

Even those who did not have time to stop and chat your contributions were gratefully received.

To all the potential junior air ambulance pilots who sat in the pod, headset on, one hand on the collective and the other on the cyclic even though their feet didn’t reach the rudder pedals, having their pictures taken it was a pleasure to have you aboard. To their long suffering parents thank you too.

And to our dedicated fund raisers throughout Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, for your unstinting generosity in both money and time on behalf of the pilots and aircrew a big thank you. 

To conclude – one potential young pilot informed me that whilst on a mission, should someone start shooting at him he would release flares to confuse the missiles. There, dear reader is an indication of the power of the media. 

Martyn Kingdon. Operations Manager, HIOWAA

How fantastic are the people of Basingstoke, and visitors to the town too.  Last Saturday and Sunday we had the pod on display, by invitation of The Malls, Basingstoke Town Centre.  The result was an astonishing collection amounting to £1223.70p. Many thanks to everyone who donated and who might be reading this!

We couldn’t have raised this incredible amount without the support of our marvellous volunteers, Lisa, Ken, Ann, and Sandy, and certainly couldn’t have had the pod in situ without Brian and Claire kindly  towing it to Basingstoke.  Many, many thanks to you all.

June

Fri 9th to Sun 11th July. 10.00 until 5.00pm.  Havenstreet Station, Isle of Wight.  A weekend of music, concerts, workshops, children's workshops, folk club, dance displays, craft, real ale bar and ...... S T E A M

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Fri 9th to Sun 11th July. 10.00 until 5.00pm.  Havenstreet Station, Isle of Wight.  A weekend of music, concerts, workshops, children's workshops, folk club, dance displays, craft, real ale bar and ...... S T E A M

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Fri 9th to Sun 11th July. 10.00 until 5.00pm.  Havenstreet Station, Isle of Wight.  A weekend of music, concerts, workshops, children's workshops, folk club, dance displays, craft, real ale bar and ...... S T E A M

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