‘Helipads for Hospitals’ gets village bin booster
THE ‘Helipads for Hospitals’ charity has been boosted by the installation of a red collection bin in Barrow-upon-Soar sponsored by the Barrow Footpaths Group.
Helipads for Hospitals ‘Helipads for Hospitals’ is a UK charity founded by former RAF and Air Ambulance helicopter pilot John Nowell. The aim is to collect about one million drinks cans to build a helipad on site at hospitals with Leicester Royal Infirmary the first planned beneficiary.
Cans are collected in various ways but the charity is trying to get as many can banks into communities to boost donations. The can banks, known as ‘Big Red Bins’, cost approximately £600 to build and install.
An appeal was put on village social media to raise awareness. Within a couple of hours a local anonymous donor had offered £600 for Barrow Footpaths Group to sponsor the bin and therefore allow Barrow to have its own can bank.
A spokesperson for Barrow Footpaths group said: “The charity was contacted and things began to move very quickly. Within a matter of days the community of Barrow has really come together to support this great cause and the can bank was delivered on Friday (August 7).
“Barrow Conservative Club donated a one tonne bag of cans straight away and other pubs such as Soar Bridge Inn, Hunting Lodge and The Moorings and sports clubs, including Barrow Cricket Club, have said they will start to donate as soon as they reopen.”
It has been sited in the car park of the local Co-op store, so it is positioned centrally in the village and is the second bin of its kind in the county with one already in Glenmore Centre car park in Shepshed.