Sherborne Classic Car Show donates £3,000 to support vital children’s charity

Sherborne Classic Car Show has generously donated £3,000 to support the Children’s Air Ambulance (TCAA), as the charity celebrates 10 years of vital service.

The car show took place on 16 July at Sherborne Castle with over 2,000 spectacular cars on show alongside trade stands, catering, and entertainment for the whole family to enjoy – with the goal to raise funds to support numerous charities across the southwest of the UK.

Charities are able to apply for a grant from the Sherborne Car Show and the Children’s Air Ambulance was one of a number of worthy charities who received this grant. The total amount distributed between the charities was an amazing £55,000.

The grants were put in place to be able to provide benefits for deserving charities located in and near the Sherborne area.

The cheque presentation took place in October 2023 at Sherborne’s Digby Memorial Hall, where the children’s charity was presented with a cheque for £3,000 to help keep the charity flying vital transfer missions.

Sherborne Classic Cars Trustee, Olivia Sugg said: “We are extremely delighted to be supporting the Children’s Air Ambulance for the second year in a row. We feel proud to say that we are able to help them to save the lives of critically ill babies and children – with highly specialist equipment and expert paediatric practitioners onboard, which gives them the best chance of survival.”

“The support of local businesses and communities is paramount to the charity continuing their vital missions. We hope we never need to use them but feel comfort knowing that they would be available if we ever needed them,” added Olivia.

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 via the clinically designed helicopters which provide a flying intensive care unit for babies and children.

The charity works with 11 NHS Clinical Partner Teams across the UK including The Southwest Neonatal Advice and Retrieval (SoNAR)and Wales and West Acute Transport for Children Service (WATCh), and the support from the local communities is vital for them to remain operational.

“On behalf of the charity, I would like to thank Sherborne Car Show for their generous grant to us for the second year running. We are incredibly grateful that they have chosen us as one of their selected charities to benefit from a donation which will allow the children’s charity to continue saving young lives across the UK,” explained Fiona Franklin, TCAA Community Fundraising Executive.

“Each potentially lifesaving mission costs £3,500, and the support from our local communities and businesses is paramount as we receive no government funding and rely solely on donations. This grant will go towards keeping the Children’s Air Ambulance flying and the specialist equipment needed for our transfer missions,” she added.

The charity is celebrating its 10^th anniversary of providing lifesaving high-speed transfers for critically ill babies and children in 2023 and is encouraging people to visit a charity store and grab a bargain, donate unwanted clothing to one of many clothing banks, get involved in a challenge event, fundraise, or even sign up to volunteer.

To learn more, or to support the charity, please visit: www.childrensairambulance.org.uk or call 0300 3045 999.