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Air ambulance which responds to farm accidents requires donations to survive

Irish Community Rapid Response (ICRR), a charity dedicated to pre-hospital care, has been granted credit extension to devise alternative funding streams.

It has welcomed this support from its helicopter provider, Sloane Helicopters and leasing partners, Milestone Aviation.

The development comes following a decision to permanently ground the air ambulance helicopter from April 3rd, 2020, due to lack of funds, as reported by us here.

In a statement on March 26th, the charity explained that all of its fundraising avenues had been extinguished after eight months of service due to global health emergency.

This sent shockwaves through the country, especially farm families as over 40% of its air ambulance missions are farm-related.

“This was a gut-wrenching decision for us to make, knowing the impact and lives saved by the service in that short time.” explained John Finnegan, volunteer chairperson of ICRR and frontline nurse.

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Support

In an update on April 3rd, Finnegan explained that the charity applied to the Government for interim funding for this “vital frontline service to help us through these exceptional times we find ourselves in”.

Despite their call being echoed by cross-party policies, “no interim financial support is going to come from the Government”.

“With the help of our helicopter provider, Sloane Helicopters, and their leasing partners, Milestone Aviation, they have given us an extra six weeks credit to come up with alternate funding streams.”

“I want to say a big thank you to Sloane helicopters for supporting the Irish people in these dark times, allowing the air ambulance to go on saving lives in the short time.” 

The registered charity is now appealing to the public to row it behind its efforts. “We now need your support more than ever before, we are looking for volunteers to be part of our live-saving team, those who are self-isolating, give us a few hours of your time in social media, marketing or any fundraising ideas that you have?”

ICRR said it needs a number of companies in Ireland to become brand partners in order to enable it to continue the delivery of this life-saving service.

“We need members of the public to please do any innovative fundraising event for us, no matter how small the donation is? Lives still need to be saved in Ireland, please help us to help you?” Finnegan concluded.

Donations

The charity explained that a donation of just €5 can provide a blanket for a paediatric patient, €50 can buy a doctor’s stethoscope and €150 can supply defibrillator pads for AED’s.

To make a donation, click here.

Image source: ICRR Twitter

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