Teen keeps giving to keep ambulance free
Fourteen-year-old Adam Bird could have saved up for an Xbox or a new bike – instead, his pocket money went to an ambulance.
The year 9 Onslow College student has been donating money to the Wellington Free Ambulance (WFA) for the past three years. All his Christmas and birthday money, as well as 20 per cent of his pocket money, went straight to the WFA.
‘‘I’m trying to keep it free so everyone can call without thinking,’’ he said.
Adam himself has called on the WFA twice – once when he had trouble breathing and needed to get to hospital and again earlier this year, when he was knocked out playing rugby.
He said those two occasions spurred him on to donate to the organisation and during the past three years or so, he has give $760.
His contribution went into a larger pool of $200,000 used by the organisation to buy the People’s Ambulance.
Adam was invited to the official launch of the ambulance on Wednesday in Wellington and saw the ribbon cut on the distinctive ambulance, which is covered in the names of suburbs of Wellington, Wairarapa and
Ka¯ piti.
‘‘It was great to know that I put money into that,’’ he said.
The ambulance launch came at the end of a hard road of fundraising, as the Greater Wellington region and Wairarapa communities raised the $200,000 for the new ambulance.
The money came from organisation and individual donations to grand fundraisers like last year’s One-of-a-Kindness Fundraising Gala.
Last year also marked the organisation’s 90th anniversary operating in the wider Wellington region and the Wairarapa.
Adam planned to keep donating to WFA well into the future and said he was also planning on signing up to volunteer with the organisation as soon as he could.
He said he was also considering a career as a paramedic – a flight paramedic, to be exact.
As for the People’s Ambulance, before too long, it will be out on the streets, whizzing past with its unique paint job.
‘‘If you want to be able to call 111 without worrying about the cost, donate to keep [WFA] free,’’ Adam said.
‘‘Try to keep them free as long as possible.’’
The WFA needs six new ambulances every year, with a price tag of $200,000 on each one.
WFA chief executive Mike Grant said the organisation had been overwhelmed by the support from the community. ‘‘They have gone above and beyond to support us. The People’s Ambulance will be a symbol of this for many years to come,’’ Grant said.
WFA is New Zealand’s only free ambulance service and to remain that way, the organisation needs to raise $4 million a year, to go with government and contract funding.
‘‘I’m trying to keep [the ambulance service] free so everyone can call without thinking [about the cost].’’ Adam Bird