5 Oct 2023
London’s Air Ambulance Charity’s Big City Collection 2023 saw charity staff, operational crew and volunteers take to London’s streets, sporting events and leisure activities from 23 September to 7 October to raise vital funds for the charity’s Up Against Time appeal.
This year’s combination of events totalled over £27,000 being raised: a record breaker following 2022’s £14,000 figure.
These funds will go towards the Up Against Time appeal: the charity’s largest-ever fundraising goal of raising an additional £15 million to replace our two helicopters before autumn 2024.
To support the bucket collectors on the streets, during Big City Collection we launched some out of home advertising across the capital’s train, tube and bus networks. Only 38% of Londoners know we’re a charity, with 96 per cent of funds reliant on public support. We hope these adverts across the city helped raise awareness of our charitable status.
We also shared the story of our previous patient Ben Gregory, who endured a significant recovery when he was hit by a car while cycling home. His sister Aimee bravely told their family’s experience following Ben’s severe brain injury – you can read their story here.
To showcase the life-saving work our medics provide Londoners with every day – 24/7, 365 days a week – we launched the first of a new video series. Introducing you to various members of our team, we hope these videos will give you an insight into the day-to-day jobs our trauma team complete, while detailing just how important it is we replace our helicopters. You can watch the main video below.
We’re so thankful to everyone who supported us during this year’s Big City Collection, shared our social posts, told a friend about our charitable status and approached our bucket collectors. If you’re interested in joining our volunteering team, please reach out on [email protected].