This year we’re giving supporters the chance to win up to £10,000 in our annual raffle, while helping to fund our life-saving work across the North of England and the Isle of Man.

The £10,000 first prize has been generously donated by AAA Roofing and is one of the biggest prizes awarded by an air ambulance raffle in the UK.

There are additional cash prizes of £2,000 for second place, £1,000 for third, and £500 for fourth also up for grabs.

Tickets cost just £1 each, and every ticket purchased will help fund our charity’s Operation SOS: Secure Our Service appeal and bring us closer to replacing our ageing fleet and securing the future of our service.

Before our raffle closes on 27 November and we announce who’s won this year, we had a catch-up with some of our previous winners.

Brothers Alan and Tony Pearson from Shildon had recently retired when Alan received a phone call telling him he had the winning raffle ticket for the top prize of £10,000.

After getting over the shock, he phoned his brother Tony to tell him the good news, as the pair had already agreed that if they won the raffle they would split the money between them.

Recalling what happened, Tony said: “Alan rang me up and he said, ‘Tony, I’ve got some good news, come down.’ So I went down and he said ‘you’ll never guess what, we ‘ve won the raffle.’

“I thought, oh great, because we’d just finished working, and then we get this as well. We were over the moon.”

The brothers decided to donate a percentage of their winnings back to our charity, by signing up to our lottery and purchasing further raffle tickets in the hopes they may win again.

Tony said: “We agreed to do the lottery for three years and donate towards the Operation SOS appeal by buying raffle tickets to help get the third helicopter, so we gave a decent chunk back, but we also gave some money to other charities.”

They then split the rest between them and used the money for several purchases, including newer cars and a cruise.

Alan said: “My half mostly went on a new second-hand car. I got a nice Honda, as I originally had a 21-year old Peugeot, so that was a huge bonus. Then the rest went towards renovating the house.”

Tony said: “Mine went on a cruise to Sweden and Denmark in October 2024. I also bought another car a bit later on, but most of the money went towards the cruise which was fantastic.

“We initially bought the raffle tickets because we knew we were helping a good cause. It’s a local charity that is close to our hearts and the work they do helps save so many people’s lives.”

Another one of our winners was Elizabeth Cater from Whickham who was both thrilled and shocked to find out she had won £10,000.

She generously donated half of her prize money back, which was £5,000, and was able to treat her family during the Christmas holidays.

She said: “I couldn’t believe it when they told me that I’d won. I haven’t won anything in my life so I was gobsmacked.

“I’m in a good financial position so I wanted to use the money to support local charities, and that’s why I sent half of the money back.

“The job GNAAS does is tremendous. They are simply amazing and need as much support as they can to keep them going.”

In addition to donating to GNAAS, a charity she has supported for more than ten years through regular giving and purchasing raffle tickets, she also donated £1,000 each to the RNLI and St Oswald’s Hospice.

She said: “They’re all good genuine charities that are local to me, so I know where the money is going.”

While some of our raffle winners were eager to spend their money, others are saving it for the future.

Lynn Gould, from Darlington, had been supporting GNAAS for over a decade by taking part in our charity’s weekly lottery and annual raffle but was “totally surprised” and couldn’t believe her luck when she was told she had won £10,000.

When we caught up with Lynn she revealed she still has the money in her bank account.

She said: “I am using the money towards my retirement. I work part-time, so I plan to leave work a couple of years earlier.”

Speaking about our charity, she added: “I think it’s a good cause. You don’t know when you’re going to need them. Any accident can happen at any time.”

Last year’s top  prize raffle winner was John Kenyon, from Stockton-on-Tees, who has entered our raffle and played our lottery since 2015.

He was left in disbelief when he was told he had won a luxury holiday to Barbados and kindly gifted the experience to his two children.

He said: “I decided that I would donate my win to my two children, Andy and Sarah. They have now sorted out the details and are going there, with their respective spouses, in January of next year. They are really looking forward to it!”

Andy has already made a list of things to do while he’s there including snorkelling, golf, a historical tour and visiting some of the restaurants on the island.

John added: “I have supported GNAAS for quite a few years now, and have seen the air ambulance in action. It is good to be able to give in a small way towards helping those who have been unfortunate.”