25/09/2020 - Permalink

News from our partners: New Shrewsbury charity shop opens to save lives

Related topics: Coronavirus / Economic growth / Health / Partner organisations

News from our partners Midlands Air Ambulance Charity

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is opening the latest addition to its group of charity shops. The brand-new store will launch in Shropshire Council’s Darwin Shopping Centre in Shrewsbury on Wednesday 30 September 2020 at 10am, and is inviting shoppers to join the local lifesaving cause.

Ahead of the grand opening the charity is looking for donations of unwanted goods, and even has a free furniture delivery service in some areas.

The charity is also recruiting for a team of local volunteers. Volunteers at the store will become part of the close-knit Midlands Air Ambulance Charity family. Instore they can expect to enjoy a fun and engaging atmosphere.

The new store’s address is: LRU5 Darwin Shopping Centre, Shrewsbury, SY1 1PL.

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity helicopter

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity

The public are being encouraged to visit the store and take a look around. The store will be COVID-19-secure and staff, volunteers and customers will need to follow all current rules and Government guidance.

Anil Gupta, head of retail for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, said:

“We’d love to see people pop in to explore the latest of our shops to open. There will be a chance to meet members of the aircrew and find out about the work undertaken during each of the charity’s lifesaving missions. The opening and launch will also provide the opportunity for local people to donate quality unwanted goods. We take clothing, furniture, books, CDs and DVDs, toys and bric-a-brac.”

Alison Hill, donor support and volunteer manager for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, added:

“Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is so pleased to be able to open its fifth charity shop, in the heart of Shrewsbury. We hope people can come along and take a look around the new store.

“We also really hope people will get in touch with us about becoming a volunteer. Last year, the number of volunteering hours donated in our charity shops funded 63 of our lifesaving missions.”

This is the fifth Midlands Air Ambulance charity shop to join the group, with the other four located in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Walsall, Wellington and West Bromwich.

For more information about volunteering at the new charity shop, email: volunteershops@midlandsairambulance.com

Find out more about Midlands Air Ambulance Charity by visiting midlandsairambulance.com and follow the organisation on social media.

Image caption: The latest Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Shop will raise funds for the local pre-hospital emergency service which is funded entirely by generous donations.

Further information

  • Coronavirus: During the continuing coronavirus pandemic, we have been working with the regional NHS community, including West Midlands Ambulance Service, providing clinical resource and specialist medical equipment to support frontline services.
  • Who are we? Midlands Air Ambulance serves the largest air ambulance region in the UK. This includes the communities of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire; representing a population in excess of six million.
  • What do we do? The charity responds to an average of 4,500 missions each year. We’re a helicopter-led service with over 2,000 of deployments being air missions. Were also have a fleet of Rapid Response Vehicles and two critical care cars. On average Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is one of the longest established and busiest air ambulance operators in the UK.
  • Our life saving service: The three air ambulance helicopters are based at Cosford airbase, near Shifnal in Shropshire (covering Shropshire and the West Midlands), Tatenhill airbase, near Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire (covering Staffordshire and the West Midlands), and Strensham Services on the M5 in Worcestershire (covering Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire).The charity’s three aircraft each carry a crew comprising a pilot, two paramedics or flight doctors plus full life-support medical equipment. The two critical care cars are based in Oldbury, West Midlands (serving the Birmingham and Black Country areas) and the charity’s Worcestershire airbase at Strensham. The charity’s cars each have one critical care paramedic on-board with full life-support medical equipment.
  • The Golden Hour: If a patient receives definitive care within 60 minutes of injury, their chances of survival are dramatically increased. All areas of the region are accessible in 19 minutes and 90% of the region is accessible within eight minutes.
  • The cost: Each year it costs in excess of £10 million just to keep the three charity helicopters and two critical care cars operational. Each air ambulance mission costs £2,500 on average and each critical care car mission costs £224, which is entirely funded by the generosity of the general public and local businesses.