South Central Ambulance Charity has launched its annual ‘Outrun an Ambulance’ fundraising challenge in collaboration with six other ambulance charities. It returns for a third year after two years of great success, which included picking up two NHS awards.
The challenge invites participants to complete more than the mileage an ambulance covers on an average shift while responding to people in urgent need. Participants can outrun the ambulance mileage, but the Charity is equally keen to encourage people to out-walk, out-swim, out-row, out-scoot or out-cycle an ambulance. In fact, any mode of transport that is self-propelled can be included. Fundraisers select the distance they would like to beat by one mile and have three months to ‘outrun’ it.
Vanessa Casey, Chief Executive of South Central Ambulance Charity, said: “We would like ‘Outrun an Ambulance’ to appeal to a broader audience and be as inclusive as possible. It would be fantastic to see more groups and teams join forces to complete this year’s challenge. Whether you’re going solo or teaming up with friends, family or work colleagues, the best part about this challenge is that it’s great fun and you can tailor it to your or your team’s needs.”
For 2023, two new mileage distances have been added as options to choose from.
Cerys Aston, Community and Events Fundraising Officer, said: “We wanted to include an option that reflected the invaluable support we receive every day from our volunteer responders. When responding to emergency 999 calls, our community first responders use Dacia Duster Dynamic Response Vehicles (DRVs). We have calculated the weekly average DRV mileage across our four counties and have included this as an option for participants to challenge and conquer.”
As well as the new DRV mileage challenge, this year there is also a 1000-mile option to mark the 75th birthday of the NHS, which will be celebrated on 5 July this year.
The ‘Outrun an Ambulance’ challenge is now open and the Charity is looking forward to welcoming individuals and teams who are ready to go the extra mile and raise vital funds to support the life-saving work of NHS ambulance staff and volunteers.
To find out more information and sign up to this year’s challenge visit https://scascharity.org.uk/events/ where you can also click the orange ‘start fundraising’ button to be taken straight to the Charity’s Just Giving campaign page.
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Notes for editors:
- South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) provides a range of emergency, urgent care and non-emergency healthcare services, along with commercial logistics services, to the populations of the South Central region – Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire – as well as non-emergency patient transport services in Surrey and Sussex.
- SCAS now serves a population of six million people across the six counties and employs more than 4,000 staff who, together with over 1,000 volunteer community and co-responders, enable the organisation to attend more than 555,000 incidents via 999, handle 1.24 million calls to NHS 111 and make 866,000 patient transport service journeys every year.
- SCAS is a foundation trust, which means it has thousands of members and a Council of Governors which form an integral part of the governance structure of the Trust. Being a foundation trust means there are more opportunities for patients and their families, staff and local residents to play a part in the future of the organisation by becoming members. Find out more here.
- South Central Ambulance Charity raises funds to support SCAS. All the money raised by the Charity is used to enhance services, projects and equipment across the Trust. The Charity works across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, as well as supporting patient transport services in Surrey and Sussex. Find out more here.
- The ‘Outrun an Ambulance’ idea was originally conceived by Emergency Care Assistant, Shannon Witts, from South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. While shielding during the covid pandemic, she and her family rose to the challenge by outrunning the total mileage of three ambulance stations in the Gloucester area, raising over £600 for the South Western Ambulance Charity.
- The NHS was founded on 5 July 1948 and will celebrate its 75th birthday in 2023. Celebrations to mark this anniversary will take place across the UK this summer and participants in the 2023 ‘Outrun an Ambulance’ challenge can join in by choosing 1,000 miles as their target to outrun this year.
For more information email communications@scas.nhs.uk