Milton Keynes’
Retail Merchant
Services to support
Thames Valley
and Chiltern Air
Ambulance Trust in
raising £3.7million
in 2014
RMS is excited to name Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance
Trust as its local charity of the year, meaning it will fundraise for the
charity throughout 2014.
The Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust (TVACAA) is fully reliant on external fundraisers to
make a minimum of £3.7million a year to maintain its current service, which comprises 26 crew including
paramedics and pilots. The charity has led over 15,000 missions since it launched 15 years ago, receiving
numerous call-outs a week, with two of those being major life-saving traumas.
We are aiming to raise in excess of £7000 by holding regular charity events such as bake-offs and dress
down days at their head office in Milton Keynes, in addition to supporting any employee who partakes
in a charity sporting event for the TVACAA. This will fund at least two potentially life-saving missions.
Following a visit to the charity’s RAF base, we were astounded at the amazing work the team do, which
is wholly financed by external fundraisers.
“We are delighted to be supporting such a worthwhile cause, run by extremely dedicated and brave
staff,” said Gareth Poppleton, Managing Director. “Covering Berkshire, Oxon and Buckinghamshire,
including Milton Keynes, the TVACAA is a charity local to us and everyone knows someone who will
need their services at some point. We are also looking to help the TVACAA by providing card payment
processing and terminals, free of charge.”
Oli Hiscoe, Fundraising Manager at TVACAA, said: “We are a small charity with a giant fund raising goal
to meet every year and without companies such as Retail Merchant Services, we wouldn’t be able to fly
and save lives. It is people’s kindness that keeps us in the sky. We need to raise £3.7million a year to just
keep going but our aim in 2014 is to fund the charity to be on-call through the night as we are currently
bound by daylight hours; this will cost millions but studies have proven will save more lives.”
RMS has supported various charities over the years, last year raising in excess of £7000 for local charities
including the MK Food Bank and Hope for Hollie, amongst others.