Pictured above: Back row: Paramedic Kerry Penn-Ashman,
Pilot Andy Bowden and Fundraising Manager Stef Langford Brown from
Midlands Air Ambulance Front row: Midlands' brewer Edward
Woods after completing his fundraising bike ride
Midlands brewer Edward Wood has raised £11500 for Midlands
Air Ambulance.
He presented the Birmingham based Charity with a cheque this
week after completing a near 1000 mile sponsored bike ride
from Land's End to John O'Groats in just 12 days.
The ride marked his 60th birthday and the 30th birthday of the
Wood Brewery at Wistanstow, Shropshire. Funds raised from sales of
a special beer brewed to commemorate the anniversary of his company
boosted the total raised for Midlands Air Ambulance.
"I set an original target of raising £6,000 for Air
Ambulance, but the tremendous generosity of people who sponsored my
ride, and good sales of our 30-60 Challenge beer, mean we're able
to give nearly double the total. That makes all the effort of the
ride seem so worthwhile, so thanks to all who gave," said
Edward.
"We're all in awe of what Edward has achieved," says Fund
Raising Manager Stef Langford Brown. "Midlands Air Ambulance prides
itself on being able to provide a rapid response but I'm not sure
many of us could cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats in twelve
days. Edward is a marvellous supporter of the Charity and the sums
he has raised for us are as impressive as his stamina."
While Edward undertook the ride to mark the double birthday,
there was an extra reason for doing so: last year, Midlands Air
Ambulance had to whisk his son Jonathan from Shrewsbury for
life-saving emergency brain surgery in Stoke following a freak
cricketing accident. Jonathan has since made a full recovery.
"It's not until situations like that hit you that you realise
just what an indispensible part that Air Ambulance plays in all our
lives - and it relies entirely on voluntary donations," said the
brewer.
On the bike ride itself, Edward said: "I can honestly say my
body has never been so sore as after all those hours of pedalling!
But the ride did have great compensations, especially seeing how
fantastic our countryside is in the late spring, particularly going
through Scotland."
The Brierly Hill based Charity provides the primary response to
the West Midlands, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire,
Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, dealing with over 3,500
callouts each year. It operates from Tatenhill Airport in
Staffordshire, RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton, and Strensham North
Services on the M5. The cost of running and maintaining current
level of operations stands at £5.6 million. ENDS