A charity football tournament has kicked off an independent accountancy firm’s year of fundraising for an air ambulance charity.
HB&O, which has offices in Coventry, Leamington and Birmingham, is partnering with the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance as its charity of the year.
The first major fundraising event was a corporate five-a-side tournament at Leamington Football Club on April 30.
The tournament was organised in partnership with the football club. More than £800 was raised, with the proceeds split between the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance and the Brakes Community Foundation CIO.
Eight teams from across Coventry and Warwickshire competed for the trophy, with HB&O supplying a team each from its offices in Coventry and Leamington and the University of Warwick entering two teams.
Barclays, Network Ltd, Trelawney and the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce also took part. The University’s ‘Whites’ team ran out winners after beating HB&O Leamington in the final.
Every year HB&O select a charity to support, raising funds last year for Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice. This year they have chosen to support the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, a critical lifesaving service funded by generous donations from members of the public and local businesses.
Within minutes, WNAA’s critical care crews can be on the ground delivering pre-hospital emergency care and giving patients the very best chance of survival. This vital service relies entirely on donations to raise the £2,300 needed for each lifesaving mission, as the charity receives no government or National Lottery funding.
Mark Ashfield, Managing Director at HB&O, said: “We are committed to supporting people in the communities that we serve and working with charities is a fundamental aspect of that approach.
“At the start of every year, our team comes together to choose a charity to support and champion for the calendar year. We work with the team to select a charity from a company-wide nomination process.
“This year the team has decided to support the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance. We previously supported the service back in 2014 and it’s great to re-establish that partnership more than 10 years on.
“The charity is supported entirely by donations, yet the service it provides is absolutely critical. The team do incredible lifesaving work across the region, and we are proud to be able to play even a small role in supporting their activity this year.”
Sally Newman, Community Fundraising Executive for Warwickshire said: “On behalf of the charity I would like to say ‘thank you’ to everyone at HB&O for raising vital funds to support our lifesaving charity.
“Every penny they have raised will go towards supporting future lifesaving missions in Warwickshire and further afield.”
To find out more about the charity and how to support it, please visit: www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk or call 0300 3045 999.
