Amateur drama group donate £6000 to air ambulance charity

Over the past two years the group has been raising money for the charity at their productions, with the funds being raised from raffles and bucket collections at their shows, social events and activities.

One member of the group even participated in a skydive.

Every year the GWAAC requires over £3 million to stay operational, it works at providing fast response critical care and life saving service. At present the charity receives no funding from the National Lottery so donations are vital to ensuring the sustainability of the service.

Chairman of Court Players Hannah Lewis revealed her pride at how much the group were able to raise over the two years.

"It makes me really proud to be able to present this cheque and I would like to thank our members, friends and audiences for their generosity," she said.

Her view was echoed by the secretary of the group, Richard Lewis who said: "When we adopted GWAAC as our charity of the year we aimed to raise £2000 which is about the cost of one helicopter mission. This cheque means we have potentially saved three people’s lives. A very rewarding achievement."

Later this year the charity have been given the opportunity to buy their new air base at Almondsbury, ensuring that the service can continue to provide instant health care at incidents. However to do this they require an extra £1.25 million.

GWAAC Fundraising co-ordinator Joe Hughes ended with a 'thank you', saying: "We really appreciate people like The Court Players and their donations as it all helps to keep the much-needed service operational."

The Court Players, who are due to celebrate their 60th anniversary over the coming months are due to start rehearsals for their celebratory production of 'Oliver!'.

It will be presented at The Memorial Hall, Rangeworthy in February after being performed by the group back in 1972, some of the original cast will be appearing in the new production.