January is almost over, and our wonderful fundraisers have well and truly hit the ground running already this year!
So, let’s take a moment celebrate all the incredible efforts of our fundraising heroes who made January such a strong start to 2026.
Lily’s festive fundraiser
Lily, who is an incredible 93 years young, decided to host a booze raffle this Christmas in aid of GNAAS – and what a success it was!
Fellow residents at Oak Field Court donated many of bottles of alcohol, along with lots of donations of money too, bringing her fundraising to an amazing £700.
We popped along to meet Lily and the other residents and what a hoot we had – proof that you’re never too old to make a big difference!
A Christmas raffle to remember
We were delighted to attend a cheque presentation with Atlas Voncere & D A Harrison, who raised £2,700 by holding a Christmas Charity Raffle.
We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved for turning festive fun into life-saving support.
Flowers for flights
The Whitehaven Flower Club presented us with a wonderful donation of £1,500. And they’ve chosen GNAAS and Blood Bikes as their chosen charities for the next three years.
We’re so grateful for your long-term support – thank you!
Fundraising fit
A big thank you goes out to Northern Warrior Fitness, who chose us as their charity of the year for 2025 and raised a brilliant £1,534.
Sweat, strength, and serious generosity – we love to see it.
‘Tis the season
Ferryhill Methodist Church raised £800 through Christmas carol singing over the festive period. A wonderful way to spread cheer and help save lives at the same time.
Jumpers with a purpose
Greaves West & Ayre in Berwick held their annual Christmas Jumper Day in December in aid of GNAAS once again in 2025.
They have supported us in this way for a few years now, and we’re so thankful for their continued kindness. Amanda paid them a visit this month and was presented with a cheque for £350!
Auction action
Brian & Sons Removals in Alnwick recently held an auction of items following a house clearance, and they kindly decided to donate all proceeds to GNAAS.
Thanks to their generosity, the event raised a fantastic £805 for our life-saving service! We were thrilled to join them for a cheque presentation, and even Miles the Bear made a special appearance, bringing smiles all around.
We’re so grateful for their support – every pound helps our crews reach patients when it matters most.
Christmas cheer in Port Erin
We were thrilled to attend a cheque presentation with The Whistlestop Cafe in Port Erin following their Christmas raffle, which raised £1,035.
The funds raised will be split to support both GNAAS and Manx Breast Cancer Support Group – a fantastic boost for two worthy causes.
In Matty’s memory
We were honoured to attend cheque presentation with Tom Heath from Opulent Odds and Ben Blackburn from AAA Roofing, who raised an astonishing £18,177 through their Christmas competition campaign.
Incredibly, Tom has now almost £70,000 over 18 years, in memory of his brother Matty.
The dedication is truly moving – thank you.
Kindness in Corbridge
Our Volunteer Susan attended a cheque presentation with the St Andrews’ Women’s Fellowship of Corbridge following their fundraising for GNAAS.
They raised a fantastic £600 – a brilliant effort from a wonderful group.
Game on
Our volunteer Olwen joined the Carlisle Sunday Night Darts League for a cheque presentation after they held a fundraiser on Boxing Day night and raised £500.
Competitive spirit put to exceptionally good use!
From service to support
Mieke and our volunteer Jim visited NARPO Kendal, a group of retired Police Officers in the Kendal area of South Cumbria. We discussed their experiences with our charity and of course our SOS campaign.
They presented us with a cheque for £400, raised through a raffle at one of their regular coffee mornings, alongside a very generous private donation from a member whose friend’s life had been saved by our crew.
Oh yes, they did!
The Marske’d Players brought festive fun to the stage with their performance of this year’s pantomime, Cinderella, and helped support our service along the way.
All ticket proceeds this year were donated to our charity, raising a total of £2345.13!
Calendars for a cause
The Wainwright Society chose us as their Charity of the Year for 2025, and they have been remarkably busy fundraising for us!
Through their fundraising and selling a calendar that they made for us, they have raised over £12,000 – absolutely incredible work.
Let there be lights
We’d like to give a big shout-out to everyone involved in Skeeby Christmas Lights, who not only spread festive cheer throughout the season but also raised funds for our life-saving service.
The community came together to create a festive spectacle, with dozens of homes in the village lit up with Christmas lights this December.
Sarah Jones and Helen Bowler recently came to our base for a cheque presentation, and we were delighted to receive an incredible £1,886!
A musical mission
Our volunteer Barry joined Shirley and John who recently hosted a Bob Dylan Event at Laxey Working Men’s Institute.
It was a great night, and they raised an impressive £1,330 for our charity.
Disco for a difference
Thank you to Karen Corlett, Michaela Gell and Karl Christian who raised £2,350 for us by hosting a community disco at the Masonic Hall in Ramsey.
Dancing really can save lives!
Christmas giving
Amanda went to St Columba’s United Reformed Church in North Shields where we were presented with £300, collected during their Christmas Market and donated to us.
The photo captured their Minister, Revd Louise Sanders, handing over the funds – a lovely moment of generosity.
Fundraising farmers
We enjoyed an airbase visit, talk and cheque presentation with Wigton Young Farmers.
Between 2014 and 2024, they have raised £3,883.30 for our charity. That’s some amazing long-term support!
They also held a Big Breakfast fundraiser in 2025 – and once the final amount is confirmed, that will be added too.
Golf for good
Charlie Jackson, Club Captain 25, and Kathryn Ord, Lady Captain 25, presented us with a fantastic £8,470.09 raised from the generosity of members of Durham City Golf Club.
Kathryn shared:
“The service is a vital part of our society and through a close friends personal experience I was delighted to choose GNAAS as my chosen charity which my fellow club captain was also happy to support.”
Cub kindness
The 21st Darlington Cubs came to our HQ for an airbase visit and kindly made a donation of £20.00 in support of our charity.
The group enjoyed it so much that they are still enthusiastically talking about their visit and how they’re hoping to take on a Mile4Miles in the Spring!
A long walk for a good cause
Alex also visited our HQ to donate money to our charity, but it was quite the trek. He took two trains and a 40-minute walk to get here, before kindly donating £80 raised for our SOS appeal.
That’s determination and generosity all in one!
Blazing generosity
Mandy and volunteer Stuart visited Ramsey Fire Station for a tour of the station and cheque presentation. Their crew recently held a charity car wash with the proceeds being split between GNAAS and the Fire Service Benevolent Fund.
A heartfelt reunion
During a recent visit to the Isle of Man by one of our critical care paramedics, Andy, we were able to arrange a meeting with a previous patient, John, and his family.
It was a wonderful meeting, and Andy was able to chat at length with John as he was one of the crew members who attended the incident.
We’d like to say a huge thanks to John’s wife Julie and daughters Nicola and Anna who also raised £349.72 recently for GNAAS, following a bucket collection at The Gaiety Theatre.
Rocking for GNAAS
Thanks so much to Lenny Conroy of Triskel Promotions for letting us run a bucket collection at the recent Davy Knowles & Band of Friends concert at Peel Centenary Centre.
We danced, had fun and raised £267.50 – a brilliant night for GNAAS!
We are continually inspired by the dedication and generosity of our supporters, and every pound raised helps our crews reach patients when they need us most.
Thank you to all our fundraising heroes for making January such a powerful start to 2026. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings…
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