Mayor inspires Harrogate Convention Centre's support for Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Harrogate support - Yorkshire Air Ambulance operates two helicopters 365 days a year

The town’s key venue for conferences and events, Harrogate Convention Centre is to welcome Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s volunteers at selected public events including exhibitions and entertainment shows.

This will enable the life-saving charity’s fundraisers to collect donations and spread the word about the vital work of the YAA.

QR codes will also be displayed at Harrogate Convention Centre to facilitate digital donations.

The gesture by Harrogate Convention Centre is part of their commitment to the community, inspired by Harrogate Mayor Coun Victoria Oldham’s choice of Yorkshire Air Ambulance as her charity of the year.

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, said: “As a stakeholder of the community we believe medical services are vital to the safety and wellbeing of the Harrogate community.

"We were honoured to support the NHS when our venue was redeployed as a Nightingale hospital during Covid, so it is with great pleasure that we support the Mayor and welcome the Yorkshire Air Ambulance to our venue to support their fundraising efforts as our community strive to recover from the pandemic.”

The YAA is an independent charity providing a life-saving rapid response emergency service to five million people across the whole of Yorkshire.

The service operates two helicopters 365 days a year – one based at Nostell Air Support Unit, near Wakefield and the other at RAF Topcliffe, near Thirsk - which cost £19,000 per day to operate and maintain.

Last year, the charity attended more than 1,700 incidents and treated 1,200 patients who required their help.

Harrogate Mayor Coun Victoria Oldham said: “As the Mayor of the borough of Harrogate, and a councillor representing a rural ward, I am especially pleased to have the Yorkshire Air Ambulance as my chosen charity.

"I am very grateful to Paula Lorimer and her team at the Harrogate Convention Centre for facilitating fundraising for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance as my chosen charity.”

Both Harrogate Convention Centre and the Harrogate mayor have been thanked by Lin Stead, Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s regional fundraising manager.