Cornwall & West Devon region funds life-saving helicopter mission

Cornwall & West Devon region has helped Cornwall Air Ambulance fund a life-saving trip from the charity.

Persimmon Homes Cornwall & West Devon donated £5,000 to the much-loved organisation, matching the cost of an average helicopter call-out.

Cornwall Air Ambulance is operational 19 hours a day, 365 days a year, and on average attends around 1,000 missions every year. The aircrew can reach anywhere in mainland Cornwall in 20 minutes, usually reaching their destination in 12 minutes, and the Isles of Scilly within 30 minutes.

Cornwall & West Devon region has recently started developing at its Trevithick Manor Park site in Newquay – a few miles away from where the Air Ambulance is based at the local airport – where 187 two to five-bed homes will become available in the coming months.

56 of these will be transferred to a local housing association partner, with £565,000 being transferred to the Council through the Community Infrastructure Levy for local improvements.

The donation comes from Cornwall & West Devon region, which sees £24,000 awarded each year to good causes and much-valued organisations in the area.

Commenting, Persimmon Homes Cornwall & West Devon Sales Director Jane Cartwright said:

“Cornwall Air Ambulance is a charity that is close to my heart, but is also much-loved across the county, so we were delighted to be able to support them with our donation.

“The staff and volunteers here exemplify what we look for when making the difficult decision of who to donate to through Persimmon’s Community Champions scheme, and it is heartening to know that it will fund a life-saving trip for someone in Cornwall.

“With Persimmon developing at Trevithick Manor Park, no doubt future customers and the generations that come after will be very grateful for Cornwall Air Ambulance’s work in the region.”

Julia Jeffrey, Corporate Fundraising Officer of Cornwall Air Ambulance, added:

“We are very grateful to Persimmon for their generous donation, which will undoubtedly help more families in their time of need. We rely on the generosity of local people, communities and businesses to raise the vital funds needed to keep your helicopter flying.

“The donation will go towards funding more of our lifesaving work, whether this be specialist medical kit for the paramedics and doctors, aviation costs, keeping the operations running or even paying for fuel for missions in your AW169 helicopter.

“Every penny donated helps to keep the crew flying to patients who need us the most across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”