Air service’s £2.7m donated from wills

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) has seen a “remarkable, but bittersweet” increase in donations left by supporters in their wills.

The charity said the £2.7million it received through will sin 2020 allowed it to continue to operate at normal levels at a time when other fundraising income had collapsed.

The figure raised represented

40% of the charity’s income and it was a significant increase on the £1.6m donated through this method in 2019.

Andy Maws on, director of operations at GNAAS, said: “This money has already had a direct impact on the lives of others.

“We responded to more than 1,200 call outs last year alone. Sometimes our role is about easing pain and often we’re battling to save lives.

“This is the legacy of all those who in their lifetime decided to leave something behind to help others unknown to them.”

Hannah Powell, legacies officer at GNAAS, added: “It’s remarkable, but it’s bittersweet.

“By their very nature, these donations are coming to us because someone has died. But that just makes us even more committed to making every penny count.

“These people may no longer be with us, but we want to remember them and do something that would have made them proud.

“We need to raise more than £5 ma year and every year, we start from scratch. We can’t just assume the donations from supporters’ wills will continue at this level, so all donations are vital.”

You can contact Hannah by calling 01325 487363 or emailing legacy@gnaas.com