Children’s Air Ambulance partners with Staffordshire University to encourage sustainability

The Children’s Air Ambulance (TCAA) has partnered with Staffordshire University in a bid to encourage students to donate unwanted items, diverting unnecessary waste away from landfill.

The Children’s Air Ambulance is a national service, changing the face of paediatric and neonatal care through the high-speed transfer of critically ill babies and children – flying them from one hospital to another for specialist care. The clinically designed helicopters provide a flying intensive care unit for babies and children.

With a focus on sustainability, the University has now placed three new Children’s Air Ambulance charity donation banks outside its Coalport, Minton, and Clarice Cliff Court accommodation – accepting donations of clothing, accessories, and small electrical items.

TCAA Business Support Manager, Liz Kelly said: “We are extremely grateful to Staffordshire University for hosting our clothing banks across their campus.

“Hosting our banks helps us build our brand awareness and educates our younger supporters on the importance of diverting textiles to landfill – whilst also helping to fund our lifesaving service.”

Donations to the Children’s Air Ambulance will support the charity in transferring critically ill babies and children, both locally and nationally, as the charity – which supports the NHS- receives no government funding and relies solely on donations for its vital service.

To reduce the amount of waste generated when students move out of their term-time accommodation, the University has also arranged for two Children’s Air Ambulance donation vans to go to its Stoke-on-Trent campus for the main move-out weekend on 25 June.

The easily accessible vans will help to encourage students to donate unwanted clothing and items rather than throwing these away.

Helen Rutherford, Head of Campus Facilities Management at Staffordshire University, said: “By adding more charity donation banks to campus, we hope to make donating more accessible to students, and encourage them to find an alternative to throwing away unused items.

“At Staffordshire University, sustainability is a huge priority, and it’s important that everyone recycles what they can and donates what they can’t. Donating is a great way of not only supporting some fantastic charities but also preventing waste from going to landfill.”

Click here to learn about the reuse services the charity offers.