From charity balls and bike shows to golf days, tractor runs and even a rather unusual lamb auction, our community have been finding all sorts of ways to raise vital funds for our crews this month.
Ready to be inspired?
Here’s a little look at what some of our fundraising heroes have been up to recently…
A night to remember
Earlier this year, Chloe Rollit, Lynzie Clague and Jo Cannell held a charity ball in aid of our service.
Mandy met with them in October for a cheque presentation, and to give our thanks for hosting the event on our behalf.
The event raised an incredible £3,500 for our charity, with a further £3,500 for the special care baby unit at Noble’s Hospital, which took such great care of Chloe when she was born.
Thank you so much for supporting two incredible causes.
Life-saving longboat race
Mandy and Stuart caught up with Amy from JC Farghers Ltd after the company entered a team into the Viking Longboat Race!
They didn’t just take part for the fun of it; the team kindly chose to donate their winnings to our charity.
Congratulations on a fantastic second-place finish, and a huge thank you for choosing to support our crews.
Making a difference together
Mandy also met with Steph and everyone at GEM chair-based exercise group this month.
They’ve been busy raising funds for our charity, and we met up with them for a cheque presentation of £250!
We’d like to say a big thank you to the entire group – it’s always lovely to see local groups coming together to support our service, and we’re so grateful for their generosity and efforts.
Dress down days
The team at Search & Select Recruitment Agency have been putting their dress-down days to good use!
Their efforts raised £300 for our charity, proving that sometimes it’s the little things at work that can make a big difference.
Thank you to everyone who got involved!
A cracking shot for charity
John Allison and his friends Matty and Stivi brought plenty of good energy to our Langwathby airbase this month, arriving with an amazing donation of £3,330!
The money was raised through their annual Winderwath Settle Estate Clay Shoot.
Although The Pride of Cumbria had been called out to an incident in the Lake District just before their visit, we still enjoyed a great chat over a cuppa, hearing all about their event, and showing them around the base.
And the fundraising spirit certainly hasn’t stopped there. There are already plans taking shape for more support, including the possibility of taking on the Great North Run!
We can’t wait to see what these guys come up with next.
Fashion, friendship, and fundraising
Mandy caught up with some of the ladies from WI Roddam this month, who presented us with a cheque for £225.
The money was raised through a fashion show and clothes sale held earlier in the summer.
It was a lovely opportunity to spend some time together, remember a much-loved member of the group and celebrate the generosity of everyone who contributed.
Thank you to all the ladies for thinking of our charity.
A pub with a big heart
The Grenadier Pub in Middlesbrough has been busy bringing its local community together for a good cause.
Their family fun day in the summer raised a fantastic £1,038.48, taking their overall total to £1,338.48!
But that’s not all – they are already planning a Christmas event in aid of our charity and have even pledged to make us their chosen charity for the next five years.
A huge thank you to everyone at The Grenadier for getting behind our service.
A fiesta to remember
For her 70th birthday, Karen Moor Rodriguez and her family decided to celebrate in style with a fiesta to remember.
Her husband, Jesus, former chef of the popular Costas Tapas Bar in Carlisle, got busy cooking giant paellas for the occasion, and together the family raised an impressive £1,418.50 for our charity. That’s enough to fund 14 life-saving blood transfusions.
To celebrate this achievement, Karen, her sister Nicola, grandchildren Emil, Layla, Isla and Bobby, and their mums Mel and Ellis paid a visit to our Langwathby airbase.
The helicopter was a complete surprise for the children! And our crew helped them climb aboard the helicopter, much to their excitement.
For little Bobby, it was a dream come true. He’d announced when he started reception this year that he wanted to become a helicopter pilot!
Thank you Karen, and family, for supporting our charity in such a grand way.
Bikes, brilliant fundraising and a big thank you
We were delighted to welcome Jono, Donny and Nige from the National Chopper Club Cumbria NCC to our airbase, along with their stunning bikes!
Back in August, the club organised their first Charity Bike Show at Penrith Cricket Club, drawing participants from across the country and raising funds for both Blood Bikes Cumbria and the Great North Air Ambulance Service.
They also kindly invited us along on the day, helping bring the total raised for our charity to £929.50.
During their visit, Pilot Antony and Paramedic Laura were on hand to answer plenty of questions about the work of our service and the challenges of delivering critical care across the North.
And, before the afternoon was over, plans for next year’s event were already taking shape!
It was a real pleasure to meet such enthusiastic supporters and we’re hugely grateful for their efforts, generosity and passion. We look forward to seeing them again next year.
Little voices, BIG difference
Volunteer John caught up with Singing Sue and her Youth Choir earlier this month to receive the funds raised at this year’s youth concert!
The talented young singers presented us with a fantastic £1,236 for our charity.
It was lovely to meet everyone, say a proper thank you for their support and share a little more about the work our crews do to help people across the region.
The young people should be incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved. It’s wonderful to see the next generation getting behind our charity and making such a positive difference in their community.
They really are little voices making a BIG difference!
Bullseye
The Seaham Ladies Darts & Dominoes League had something extra to celebrate at their annual awards ceremony in October.
Alongside celebrating their achievements, the ladies presented us with a fantastic £800 donation to support our charity.
A huge thank you to everyone involved for their generosity. We’re incredibly grateful to have your support!
Teaming up with Tesco
Over on the Isle of Man, all Tesco stores came together to support our charity during Air Ambulance Week.
John and Natasha from Lake Road Tesco recently joined us for a cheque presentation, handing over an incredible £3,100!
Even better, the stores have pledged to support us each year during Air Ambulance Week.
A huge thank you to all the colleagues and customers who helped make this happen. Your support will make such a big difference!
A tractor run in loving memory
At a recent event, Amanda was approached by Dennis Bowman, who had organised a tractor run in aid of GNAAS in memory of his late wife.
The run took place in August, setting off from the Vintage Tractor Parts yard in Fourstones before heading to Bellingham and back again, where everyone enjoyed a well-earned BBQ.
There was plenty of support along the way, too. Mr and Mrs Anderson of The Riding kindly provided cakes and coffees in Bellingham, while Thomas Stephenson of WMH Quality Catering supplied the meat for the BBQ.
It’s lovely to see people coming together to remember someone special while supporting our crews at the same time – their event raised a brilliant £771!
Thank you to Dennis and everyone who played a part in the day.
Cars and community fundraising
Amanda also met with Andrew who organised a car show in Wooler earlier in the month.
Having organised the event last year, he was back at it again this autumn, raising £281.40 for our charity.
Amanda caught up with him at a recent event for a cheque presentation beside his ice cream van – a rather lovely setting for a fundraising photo!
And Andrew is already hoping to raise even more next year and has invited us along, too.
Knitting together
A big thank you to the lovely ladies of Knatty Knitters, who raised £200 for our charity.
Each week, members pay to attend the group, with the money collected being put aside and donated.
But the group offers so much more than knitting. It’s an important part of the local community, bringing people together for a chat, a slice of cake and the chance to build friendships.
It’s wonderful to see a group making such a positive difference – thank you!
A hole-in-one for fundraising
If you’ve ever spent a weekend at Wild Rose Holiday Park in Appleby, chances are the Wild Rose Golf Syndicate has roped you into a card game, a guessing game, or competition, all in support of the Great North Air Ambulance Service.
Earlier this month they presented us with a cheque for an incredible £9,000, taking their total raised for our charity over the years to a whopping £24,373.
Their big event is the Maureen Baldwin Charity Golf Day, held in July and named after a lifelong supporter of the air ambulance.
This year’s event also featured a rather impressive raffle, with so many prizes donated by Appleby residents, businesses and supporters further afield that the tables actually collapsed under the weight of them all!
To everyone at Wild Rose Holiday Park and the Golf Syndicate, we’d like to say a huge thank you. We hear next year’s target is £10,000… and we wouldn’t put it past you!
Their best year yet
Throughout 2026, the North East Vinduro Club has been busy fundraising for our charity, with members recently celebrating an incredible total of £7,818.80.
It’s the most they’ve ever raised in a single year, and understandably, everyone is feeling pretty proud of what they’ve achieved!
It’s fantastic to see so many people getting behind the fundraising, and we’re incredibly grateful for the club’s continued support.
From Teesside to Ibiza
Colin Irving took on quite the cycling challenge earlier this year, cycling all the way to Ibiza in aid of our service!
And his efforts have attracted some generous support, with The Eagle Pub donating £1,500, bringing his fundraising total to almost £5,000!
A huge thank you to Colin and everyone at The Eagle for helping turn an ambitious cycling challenge into vital support for our crews.
Another year, another amazing total
The team at Barrasford Park Clubhouse have once again been fundraising, supporting us as their chosen charity this year.
Amanda joined them for their end-of-season Halloween event, where there was plenty going on, including merchandise sales, raffle tickets and the chance to chat about our charity.
The evening also marked the end of another fantastic year of fundraising, with the clubhouse presenting us with an incredible £5,440.
We’re so grateful to everyone who has supported the club’s fundraising throughout the year. Thank you for continuing to get behind our service!
A wardrobe full of generosity
Rothbury WI chose our charity to benefit from their fundraising in 2026, and October saw the group get busy with a Nearly New Clothes Sale.
Held on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 October in Rothbury, the event raised just over £1,940 for our Operation SOS appeal!
The total came from clothing sales, refreshments and a fantastic while-you-wait alteration service, kindly provided by WI member Catherine Carr.
We can’t wait to see what the ladies get up to next!
Little lamb, big impact
Now, this is a fundraising story you don’t hear every day.
Former patient Richard Vickers invited us along to an auction in Cockermouth, where he was selling a lamb in aid of our charity.
Richard knows first-hand just how important our service can be. We attended to him earlier this summer after he was involved in a serious incident with a post driver, which resulted in a severe arm injury. He was flown to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, where surgeons managed to save his arm.
So, he wanted to give something back.
The lamb attracted plenty of interest from farmers at the auction, and here’s where things got interesting: it was sold not once, but SIX times.
Each time a farmer bought it, they kindly put it straight back up for auction, helping the total climb to an incredible £1,000!
Spooky support
Coxlodge Social Club brought a little extra fun to their Halloween Open Mic Night, hosting a raffle in aid of our charity.
There were plenty of fantastic fancy dress outfits on show, with prizes awarded for the best costumes, alongside a brilliant atmosphere and some great entertainment.
The club also invited us along to sell merchandise, and the raffle raised a fantastic £273 for our service.
A huge thank you to everyone who joined in!
Eyes down for a good cause
Our volunteer Emma Peters brought the community together in Berwick for a brilliant evening of Bingo Goes Mad at the Black and Gold.
There was plenty of fun to be had, and, most importantly, the event raised more than £800!
Thank you to Emma for organising the evening and to everyone who came along and helped make it such a success.
A night of soul and generosity
Volunteer Liz Stringer swapped her usual fundraising efforts for a night on stage, performing with the Soul Survivors and The Ragdolls in North Shields.
The evening raised funds through a JustGiving page, collection buckets and donations on the night. And together, these contributions raised more than £1,400 for our charity!
Thank you to Liz and everyone involved. It’s wonderful to see our volunteers going above and beyond in so many different ways.
90 years young and going strong
One year ago, Penrith Young Farmers visited our Langwathby airbase to meet the crew and find out more about what we do.
Fast forward to this October, we met up with them again, this time to accept an amazing £4,000 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service.
The group chose us as one of the charities to benefit from their 90th anniversary fundraising, and they certainly didn’t do things by halves…
Back in July, members took on a 24-hour challenge to run, row and cycle at least 900 miles between them. They absolutely smashed it, clocking up an incredible 1,048.2 miles!
They also organised a speed shearing competition, which is about as Cumbrian as fundraising gets.
It’s been brilliant to see their energy, determination and community spirit throughout the year.
Happy 90th anniversary to Penrith YFC and thank you for helping us continue to provide critical care across the North.
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And that’s just a snapshot…
There’s no such thing as a typical fundraiser, and October has certainly proved it.
Every one of these events, donations and challenges helps our crews continue providing critical care to patients across the North of England and Isle of Man.
So, to every fundraising hero who has done something to support our charity this month: thank you.
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