April has been another brilliant month for community spirit, creativity, and generosity across the region.
Once again, supporters have gone above and beyond to raise vital funds for our life-saving service.
From choirs and cake sales to tractor runs and milestone celebrations, here’s a look at just some of the incredible fundraising efforts we’ve been lucky enough to see this month.
A warm welcome in Rothbury
Early in the month, we headed to Rothbury to meet with members of a local choir who recently help a joint performance, along with a separate weekend concert in support of our charity with a focus on Operation SOS.
It was a real pleasure to collect their fundraising total, but even more special to spend time with members over a cup of tea, chatting about our service and the impact their support makes.
The visit ended on a high note – quite literally – with a beautiful impromptu performance of two songs, a moment that perfectly captured their generosity and spirit.
Networking success
Amanda and Ben attended the first pop-up of the North East Network Event, held across the new Stack at Pilgrim Street and Hotel Gotham, again on Pilgrim Street.
We had a lovely day sharing more about our work, and as chosen charity for the day we were delighted to raise an incredible £800.
Walton Young Farmers go the extra mile
We welcomed Walton Young Farmers to our Langwathby airbase for a community talk, base visit, and cheque presentation.
The group raised an outstanding £2,000 for our charity through their Christmas Tractor Run, so it was great to have them at base, show them how their efforts help keep our service flying, and to say thank you!
Impact on the Island
Volunteer Stuart with Mr Curphey Taggart, Chairman of Malew Parish Commissioners. We were chosen as their COTY for their Annual Civic Service which took place in March.
We’re proud to see continued support from the Isle of Man community. We met with Mr Curphey Taggart, Chairman of Malew Parish Commissioners, for a cheque presentation of £800 after we were chosen as Charity of the Year.
Community support
Elsewhere on the Island, colleagues at Manx Care hosted a fantastic cake sale in their staff restaurant, with two staff members taking on the Great North Run later this year. They raised over £1,000 which is incredible – we have to say, the cakes must have been amazing!
Birthday bash boost
We welcomed Mr Carl Bevan to our Langwathby airbase. He brought with him the funds collected from a whip round at his 80th birthday bash.
A wonderful way to turn a special occasion into something that will help save lives!
Gardening generosity
We also held a base visit and cheque presentation for Caldbeck & District Gardening Club. They raised £700 through seed potato sales and a raffle, proving once again how small community efforts add up to a big difference.
Bottoms up!
At the Isle of Man Beer & Cider Festival, Mandy and volunteer Stuart were on hand to support fundraising efforts.
We’d like to say a huge thank you to the festival organisers for choosing us as their Charity of the Year and to Odins Brewery for producing their special “Lifeline Brew”!
Strands National support
We also spent time at The Strands Inn, Screes Inn, Strands Distillery & Brewery for their Strands National Day, they also fundraiser for us over Easter.
It was an event full of energy, laughter, and even a few surprises! It was a brilliant reminder of how fundraising and fun often go hand in hand.
Pennine YFC presentations
Pennine YFC visited our Langwathby Airbase to present us with a fantastic £2,000 donation.
The group arrived just as the Pride of Cumbria was tasked to an incident in Millom, so they witnessed the helicopter take off before later seeing it return!
They also enjoyed a guided tour from pilot Mik, and paramedic Terry explained how their fundraising supports life-saving care before the tractor put the aircraft to bed which proved a hit with the young farmers!
Wrapping up
We also visited Ryecroft Glenton for a cheque presentation for monies they had raised throughout 2025/2026 while we were Charity of the Year.
While we were there, we also collected several bags of clothing donations.
It was a lovely end to a long-standing relationship that has delivered consistent support throughout the year. We’re incredibly grateful for their continued commitment!
Festive fundraising
We would also like to thank Castlegate Singers Cockermouth who raised £400 through their festive Christmas concert raffle held in aid of Operation SOS campaign.
We met them this month for a cheque presentation, and their generosity and enthusiasm for supporting local causes shone through.
Eyes down
The Wilcock family, who own and run the Shepherds Inn Langwathby, visited the airbase to present a cheque for £935.95. The money was raised thanks to a fantastic turnout from local residents at their annual bingo night.
The funds reflect the generosity of the Langwathby community, who supported the event in their droves.
Long‑standing supporters, the Shepherds Inn also traditionally provide Christmas dinner for our on‑duty crew, underlining their role as truly good neighbours.
Parish praise
A huge thank you to Parish of St George’s & All Saints, who raised an incredible £1,000 through their Community Lent Lunches.
Birthday base visit
We held an airbase visit for Dave Mitchell who Amanda met last year at The Northumberland Vintage Tractor Annual Rally at Brunton Airfield.
We did a cheque presentation at the event with him last year, and after speaking to his family, organised this airbase visit to tie in with his 85th birthday!
Over the years, Dave has raised over £17,000. His family are super proud of him and his fundraising dedication. Joe, our CEO, came and had a chat with Dave and his family before they had a pitstop in Hangar 63.
Shap show support
Organisers of the Shap Fell Model Transport Show visited the Langwathby airbase after raising a fantastic £1,000 at their annual event.
The total was generously split between the local youth football team and our charity.
During the visit, the group were listening to paramedic Laura when the helicopter and crew were dispatched on a call out. From a safe distance, they watched the Pride of Cumbria take off, which was a powerful moment that brought to life everything they had just heard.
Herdster heroes
It was great to welcome the Herdsters to our Langwathby airbase this month. They were visiting Cumbria for HerdyCon, so popped in to support us too.
Each brought their favourite Herdwick (Herdy) onto the helipad for a brilliant photo and presented our charity with a magnificent £860.
Huge thanks to these extraordinary reps of the comm‑ewe‑nity we serve!
Toys, tech, and treasures
We held a cheque presentation with Mandy and Martin from Toys n Tech, along with Ann who worked in their shop.
Mandy and Martin have now retired, and after the shop closed, they held a fundraising day for us where the proceeds from everything that was sold was donated to us. They also kindly donated the remaining stock to us to use as prizes!
They have supported us since March 2024 and have now raised over £20,000 for our charity.
Insight and inspiration
Mandy was invited as guest speaker at the Inner Wheel monthly dinner towards the end of the month. She provided an informative insight to the work of our air ambulance service.
The members enjoyed the talk and gave a truly kind donation of £200!
Creativity for a cause
Emily and Mieke were warmly welcomed to Watermillock Village Hall for a cheque presentation following the Watermillock Painting Group’s annual Easter exhibition.
With tea and gloriously warm cake, we heard how the group raised an incredible £650 through a raffle and donations at the door, and were delighted by just how generous people had been in support of our charity.
It was moving to hear the personal connections so many people shared with the charity!
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Thank you all for your incredible effort!
Every event, donation, and gesture featured this month plays a vital role in keeping our service running and our crews saving lives.
Thank you to each and every one of our April Fundraising Heroes, we can’t wait to see what May brings.
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