Ray Winstone urges public to be part of Essex & Herts Air Ambulance's new airbase forever.

5^th January 2021

Ray Winstone urges public to be part of Essex & Herts Air Ambulance’s new airbase forever

Film and TV star Ray Winstone, Celebrity Patron of Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT), has given the charity’s fundraising efforts a major boost by recording a video in which he asks people to support EHAAT’s `Buy-a-Brick’ appeal, which is currently raising money to help with the build of their new airbase at North Weald.

All the virtual bricks from this fundraiser will be used in the walkway to the helicopter viewing area which will be accessible from the new exciting interactive visitor centre. There are four virtual bricks available, from Bronze at £10 to Platinum at £100 Gold and Platinum brick supporters will have their name on a permanent display.

In the video, which can be seen here, Ray asks the people and businesses of Essex and Hertfordshire to `purchase a brick or two’ in his own unique style to support this very special project.

Pam Withrington, Fundraising and Marketing Director at EHAAT said: “As soon as we started sharing this very special recording on our social media channels, there was a jump in the number of people buying bricks, so Ray is clearly a persuasive man! He has been a highly enthusiastic supporter of the charity for many years, and we appreciate everything he does for us.

“Our new airbase at North Weald, which will open later this year, is a vital part of securing the future of our life-saving service for the people of Essex and Hertfordshire, and everybody who contributes to our Buy-a-Brick appeal will have played an important part in this amazing legacy for our communities.”

For more information and to `Buy-a-Brick’, visit EHAAT’s website at ehaat.org/buy-a-brick, contact the fundraising team on 0345 2417 690 or alternatively email them at contactus@ehaat.org.

Ray’s video can be viewed here. A timelapse video showing progress on the new airbase can be viewed here.

-ENDS-

Photograph: Ray Winstone with giant EHAAT collection tin.

For more information contact Gavin Sherriff, PR Officer, on 0345 2417 690 or 07870 158 309

Notes to Editor:

• Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) is a Charity that provides a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas.
• The service is provided free of charge but, unlike NHS emergency services, the Charity receives limited direct funding from the Government and none from the National Lottery. It costs in excess of £750,000 every month to keep the service operational and cover all charitable costs, and this would not be possible without the generosity and goodwill of people and businesses of Essex, Hertfordshire and beyond.
• Each of the Charity’s HEMS teams consist of two Pilots, a Pre-hospital Care Doctor and a Critical Care Paramedic.
• These teams, made up of highly-skilled individuals, attended 1,526 patients in 2019 and are the backbone of your local life-saving Charity.
• The fleet consists of two Air Ambulances, and four rapid response vehicles (RRVs - cars) The RRVs are crewed by a Pre-hospital Care Doctor and a Critical Care Paramedic and carry the same life-saving equipment as the helicopters.

• During the day, from 7am until 8.00pm, the Critical Care Team provides the service using helicopters based at Earls Colne and North Weald. An RRV is used before sunrise, after sunset or when the helicopter is unable to fly because of poor weather or maintenance.
• Overnight from 7.30pm to 7.30am the service is provided using an RRV based at North Weald.