Warwickshire local raises over £24,000 to support lifesaving charity in memory of her beloved daughter

Michelle Jones from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, with help from family and friends, has incredibly raised more than £24,000 in memory of her daughter to support the lifesaving missions of the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA).

Michelle has been raising the phenomenal funds, alongside family and friends in memory of her beloved daughter Saskia Jones who sadly died aged twenty-three on 29 November 2019.

When Saskia was aged only six years old, she was airlifted by the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance crew after a serious road traffic collision and she had chosen to support the charity ever since, so in 2020 #TeamSas was born – a group made up of Saskia’s Cambridge University friends and Saskia’s wider friends and family who began fundraising for her chosen charity.

Their fundraising began in 2020 and Alice Elks, Saskia’s best friend set up a fundraising page and amazingly raised £2,061 in her memory. Last year on 11 February 2023, the day before Saskia’s birthday they held their first big fundraising event at The Rathmore in Cambridge including activities such as a raffle, bingo, an ‘All about Sas’ quiz and more to raise further funds.

Together over four years Michelle and #TeamSas have raised a phenomenal £24,584.50 to enable the charity to continue their lifesaving missions.

Not just stopping at fundraising pages and events, Michelle even made a donation to the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance in memory of her daughter and had a tree planted in the Air Ambulance Memorial Woodland, which is created in partnership with the National Forest Company – keeping Saskia’s memory living on.

This year, on Saturday 01 June 2024, #TeamSas will be taking their fundraising to the next level and will be taking on the Mount Snowdon challenge, the highest mountain in Wales in Saskia’s memory. A group of twenty individuals including a special guest, Michelle’s three-year-old godson, will be taking on the challenge wearing #TeamSas and #BeMoreSas t-shirts specially made with help from Lesley Reilly.

#BeMoreSas is a mantra that Michelle’s family adopted as a small reminder of how important it is to build and sustain a legacy in Saskia’s name and how to behave when things are seemingly overburdening. Saskia gave 100% to everything she attempted in life and always had people’s backs, forever putting others before herself, so Michelle and her family encourage everyone to ‘BeMoreSas’.

“Saskia would be very proud of the amount raised so far for the WNAA. My thanks go out to all those who have supported us over the last 4 years, your donations will save lives as well as echoing Saskia’s spirit of giving,” said Michelle Jones.

“The adventure of ‘Mount Snowdon’ awaits but we are excited to be raising further funds and being altogether in memory of Saskia #BeMoreSas,” she added.

The Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance crew are available 24/7, 365 days per year, providing lifesaving pre-hospital care to those who need it the most. The charity receives no government or National Lottery funding and relies solely on generous donations from its supporters to fund its vital missions – without this they wouldn’t be able to continue their lifesaving missions across Warwickshire and further afield.

Irene Wayness, Legacy and In Memory Administration Executive for the charity said: “We would like to say huge thank you to Michelle and everyone involved in #TeamSas for the phenomenal donations they have made in memory of Saskia to support our charity.”

“Without the dedicated support from the local community and people just like this, we wouldn’t be able to continue our lifesaving missions in Warwickshire and further afield,” she expressed.

To donate to support #TeamSas on their Mount Snowdon challenge please visit: saskia-jones.muchloved.com/

To find out more about planting a tree in memory of your loved one please visit: theairambulanceservice.org.uk/your-local-air-ambulance/give-in-memory/forest-partnership/

For more information on the charity, please visit: www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk or call 0300 3045 999.